26% Annual Energy Savings with a Grundfos Hydro MPC Pressure Boosting System
Project Overview
A 48-storey mixed-use building in San Francisco, comprising a five-star hotel and commercial office space, required an upgrade to its aging domestic water boosting system.
Water demand was ongoing around the clock – for office operation in the daytime and for hotel occupancy at night. The building needed a dependable pressure boosting system to maintain consistent water pressure and improve energy efficiency.
The existing constant speed system had been in operation for nearly 40 years and was becoming less efficient. An updated and energy-efficient solution was selected as part of the building's proactive lifecycle replacement strategy.
The Challenge
The present domestic water boosting system had several challenges:
- Almost 40 years of service
- Constant-speed pumps running around the clock
- Rising energy consumption
- Perpetual domestic water demand from offices and hotel guests
- Need for reliable water pressure and system redundancy
- Low tolerance of service interruptions
- Requirement of a modern system with improved maintainability and accessibility
The replacement also had to be done with as little disruption to building occupants and hotel guests as possible.
The Grundfos Solution
The aging constant-speed installation was replaced by a Grundfos Hydro MPC Quadruplex variable-speed pressure boosting system.
The new packaged system comprises four pumps, motors and variable frequency drives, all controlled by the intelligent CU 352 controller.
The controller continuously monitors system demand, pressure and pump performance, automatically adjusting pump operation to provide the required water pressure while optimising energy consumption.
Intelligent Pressure Management
Instead of continuously operating the pump at a constant speed, the Hydro MPC adjusts the pump operation to meet the building water demand as it changes.
This enables the system to react efficiently to periods of high and low consumption instead of running pumps at full speed all the time.
Seamless Installation
A key requirement of the project was to avoid major disruption to the building’s mains water supply.
The new Hydro MPC system was installed beside the current equipment, instead of removing the current system and installing the new one at the same location.
The supply and discharge piping was pre-assembled so that the change-over to the new system could be carried out with only a four-hour overnight service interruption.
This approach minimized disruption and enabled a smooth transition to the new pumping system.
Results
The Hydro MPC solution provided value by way of tangible improvements in energy efficiency, reliability and system operation.
26% Energy Efficiency Improvement
Power consumption was monitored for several years using revenue-grade sub-metering to track the energy performance of the existing system.
The new Grundfos system, when replaced, achieved about 26% higher energy efficiency and a large reduction in base electrical demand.
Improved System Redundancy
The quadruplex arrangement offers more operational flexibility and redundancy to maintain a reliable supply of water during servicing of individual pumps.
Improved Domestic Water Quality
The new system’s stainless-steel pump construction and suction/discharge manifolds provide a superior material configuration for domestic water applications over the previous installation.
Smaller & More Accessible Footprint
The new packaged system offers a more compact installation with improved access for service and dedicated isolation arrangements for maintenance.
Key Benefits at a Glance
| Performance Area | Improvement |
| Energy efficiency | 26% improvement |
| Pump configuration | Quadruplex – 4 pumps |
| Control | CU 352 intelligent controller |
| Pump operation | Variable speed |
| Installation disruption | Only 4-hour overnight cutover |
| Application | 24/7 domestic water boosting |
| Building | 48-storey mixed-use, LEED Platinum-certified building |
Grundfos Pressure Boosting Solutions Through Alantech
Alantech offers Grundfos pumping solutions for industrial facilities.
We can assist in choosing the best pressure boosting systems for your building based on water demand, pressure requirements, operating conditions and energy-efficiency goals.
Thinking of a Water Booster System Upgrade?
If your existing pressure boosting system is old, energy hungry or unable to effectively react to changing demand, contact Alantech to learn more about Grundfos Hydro MPC and other energy efficient pumping solutions.
Speak to Alantech today about Grundfos pressure boosting solutions specific to your project
