Unique Control to Increase Pump Station Efficiency

Xylem Water Solutions (UK), provider of products and services for complete fluid handling solutions, has accelerated plans to roll out an integrated pump station manager which can simplify pumping applications and drastically reduce energy and operating costs.

The MultiSmart Intelligent Pump Station Manager (iPSM) was originally developed by Multitrode, acquired by Xylem Water Solutions in early 2013. It integrates in excess of 11 different control panel components, all of which require individual monitoring equipment, into a single easy-to-use offering. From here, MultiSmart will manage the pump station whilst providing all users with the ability to manage necessary station control, communication and data requirements locally or remotely.

Key benefits include the ability for end-users to remotely view and control a pump station and monitor true energy consumption and performance. The MultiSmart provides accurate on-site calculations and measurement of power consumption, pump energy consumption and flow rate to derive overall system efficiency. Using this internally calculated data, MultiSmart can intelligently call upon the more efficient pump to operate more frequently than the other(s) and can also avoid or reduce pump blockages with a ‘Pump Reversal feature’.

The user has savings made by consolidating the numerous control panel options into MultiSmart and, with its energy features, can also help water companies achieve the EU’s Carbon Reduction Target of reducing carbon emissions by 20% in 2020 (compared to 2008 figures). The Multismart functionality and pump station management will also noticeably reduce a pump station’s life cycle cost.

Guy Fitzpatrick, General Manager – ICA Division for Xylem Water Solutions UK, comments: “In general, pump stations require a range of different monitoring equipment – from Remote Telemetry Units (RTUs), phase failure relays, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), current meters to flow meters and hours-run meters, in order to assess overall system efficiency.

“However, by combining all of these into the MultiSmart Intelligent Pump Station Manager, end-users can now quickly and easily see which areas of a station are performing well and which can be improved. What’s more, through its management of the pump station, blockages can be swiftly negotiated. By using its pump efficiency function, the more efficient pump can be utilised more frequently, therefore improving a station’s overall efficiency and, when combined with the reduced equipment required in the control panels, can reduce a station’s maintenance and operational costs.”

Xylem’s MultiSmart also incorporates a range of valuable pre-programmed functions such as: odour reduction, maximum run time, blocked pump detection and predictive maintenance alarming.