Synapse Group
Pumping energy efficiency
Pumping cost is argued in kWh/m³, not from the bill.
Measurement per point and per time band, the pump's real operating point, sequencing and using the reservoir as storage. The number first, the investment after.
Get in touchWhen it shows up
If this is happening, this is the problem.
The electricity bill is discussed as a monthly total and nobody knows which pump explains it.
A pump is suspected of running off its point, but there is no measured flow to prove it.
Pumping happens when water is needed, with no regard for which tariff band the consumption falls in.
There is a reservoir that could work as storage and is operated as if it were just a pass-through.
How we approach it
What gets installed and how detection works.
- 01
Baseline
Energy, flow, suction and discharge pressure per point and per time band. From that comes the real kWh/m³ of each pump, the number that makes two different stations comparable.
- 02
Hydraulic diagnosis
The measured operating point is contrasted with the pump curve: off-best-efficiency operation, cavitation, wear and valve throttling show up there and not on the bill.
- 03
Reorder before buying
Sequencing between pumps, using the reservoir as hydraulic storage, shifting consumption off peak and pressure-based control. Most of these measures need no new equipment.
- 04
Only then, the investment
Variable frequency drive, impeller change, redesign of the delivery line or photovoltaics, decided on the measured profile and not on the monthly average. Automating or buying before measuring is the expensive way to the same place.
Where it applies
The industries where this problem weighs most.
The same work changes scale and standard by front, not nature. These are the pages with the context for each one.
What it is measured against
The indicators are set before anything is installed.
A pilot without a baseline is no basis for a scale-up decision. These are the indicators the work is designed against, measured before starting so there is something to compare with.
- kWh per m³
- The central indicator. Per pump, per station and per time band, not averaged.
- Cost per m³
- The same consumption expressed in money at the real tariff, which is where the effect of timing shows.
- Pumping hours on peak tariff
- How much consumption falls in the expensive part of the day, usually the quickest and cheapest saving to capture.
- Distance from best efficiency point
- How far the pump operates from its BEP, measured against the manufacturer's curve.
Frequently asked
What we get asked before the first meeting.
How much can the pumping electricity bill come down?
It depends on the pump curve, the contracted tariff and the hourly profile, which is why we do not give a percentage before measuring. The work starts by establishing the real kWh/m³ and consumption per band: only with that baseline can you separate what is sequencing, what is a drive and what is simply a badly contracted tariff.
Is a variable frequency drive worth installing?
It is worth it when demand varies and is currently regulated by throttling a valve, and considerably less so when the pump runs at almost the same point all the time. It is a decision taken on the measured profile: a drive fitted to a constant regime adds losses and saves nothing.
What is kWh/m³ and why does it matter so much?
It is the energy consumed per cubic metre actually delivered. It matters because it normalises: it lets you compare two stations of different size, follow one pump's degradation over time, and detect that something changed even when total consumption stays flat.
Does it apply to agricultural irrigation as well as mine pumping?
Yes. Scale and standards change, the physics does not: in both cases the problem is energy per cubic metre, operating point and timing. What changes is the size of the saving and how quickly it pays back.
Contact
Let's talk.
If you have an operational challenge, an innovation project in mind or a question about applying technology to your industry, get in touch.
proyectos@synapsegroup.techWe reply within 48 business hours.