Industrial control for pump systems — Changes in water demand

What’s up everyone. Josh Kingsley here, your host for All Things Control by Eaton.

Reacting to water demand changes

In this installment of What’s in the Trailer, we will discuss controlling booster pumps to help efficiently transport water across regions and within commercial buildings like a downtown high rise. We will delve into how Eaton’s control products respond to changes in water demand throughout the building. Let’s explore what’s in the trailer.

Maintaining water pressure

This multi-pump configuration features the PowerXL DG1 variable frequency drive, which is staging pumps to maintain water pressure according to varying usage demands. 

Say, for instance you and your co-workers head to the lunch room for a break. Some people are using the sinks, others are getting water for coffee. Some are heading to bathrooms or using the water fountains to fill up their water bottles. Demand for water at this time of day is peaking.

When I open the valve on this system, I simulate the increase in demand for water that’s happening in the building. The DG1 detects the increased demand and responds by increasing the speed of the pump. When the first pump can no longer meet the demand, the DG1 communicates to a second VFD, which turns on the next pump in the sequence. The VFD will continue to do the same with the subsequent pumps as demand increases even further.

Pump service bypass

This configuration can also accommodate a pump service bypass. This means that if one of the pumps’ motor disconnects is turned off because it’s being repaired, the DG1 automatically jumps to the next pump in the sequence to meet the same increased demand. Both of these functions come standard in the DG1 and eliminates the need for expensive PLCs to run the system.

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