Did you know that switching from a valve-based system to distributed pumps can save energy significantly?
Most chilled water systems use large centralised pumps and chillers controlled by valves. These valves waste loads of energy and make it difficult and time-consuming to balance the system correctly. Distributed Pumping systems for commercial buildings is a paradigm shift towards decentralised pumps that can save energy significantly and create a more consistent, comfortable climate throughout the building.
54% energy savings
Grundfos Distributed Pumping helped Ngee Ann, a large university building in Singapore, increase Delta T by 28% and reduce total pump energy by 54% – all while providing optimal comfort for building users.
Learn more in our customer case story.
How decentralised pumping saves energy
Distributed Pumping solutions replace centralised pumps and energy-consuming balancing and control valves with intelligent pumps placed on each floor of the building. This means the new system is equipped with components that generate pressure only when and where needed. The result is substantial energy savings and a more comfortable indoor climate.
How to increase comfort and improve Delta T
Inadequate commissioning leads to poorly balanced systems and excessive energy use. Replacing valves with pumps ensures optimal pressure and flow to each terminal unit at all times. So, you can increase comfort and improve Delta T. Get a great introduction to how Grundfos Distributed Pumping works in this video.
Watch the video about Distributing Pumping from Grundfos iSOLUTIONS.
Training for commercial buildings
Want to learn more about Distributed Pumping in commercial buildings? Grundfos Ecademy offers the following training modules to support the execution of your project:
- How Grundfos Distributed Pumping works and what benefits it delivers
- The benefits of auto-balancing and how distributed pumps deliver the right flow and pressure
- How distributed pumps improve performance of HVAC systems without compromising reliability and end-user comfort
Distributed pumping in practice
Distributed pumping can be applied to existing chilled water systems that need retrofitting or to new commercial buildings planned with chilled water air conditioning. It can also be applied in decentralised chilled water systems. Dig into the technical details of these specific applications and more in our distributed pumping white paper.
Rethink your chilled water system
Beyond total energy savings and improved comfort, Grundfos Distributed Pumping offers easy commissioning, easy integration and improved chiller performance. Get an overview of all the benefits of Distributed Pumping and compare our system to a traditional valve-based system in our brochure.
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Saving operation costs with distributed pumping
Get the application guide: Controls and communication in Commercial Buildings
Get the whitepaper: Distributed Pumping in practice
Does a distributed pumping solution require hydraulic balancing?
No. Because we use small circulators as coil pumps to supply chilled water to each terminal unit (ie. Air handling unit), your entire building will be perfectly balanced at any load.
This also simplifies the design phase, as it is no longer necessary to determine the critical pressure point / index loop when doing the HVAC design. With distributed pumping, your whole system becomes decoupled and each pump is sized to deliver just the right flow.
How is the Capital investment compared to a conventional system with valves?
Because a Grundfos Distributed Pumping system is replacing the valves with coil pumps and reduces the kW size of primary pumps, the Capital Investment will either be the same as a conventional system or around 20% more expensive, depending on the choice of valves in the conventional design.
But the commissioning efforts needed for a distributed pumping solution, will be much less, since there is no need for hydraulic balancing or determination of Set Points (ei. Constant ...
How reliant is a distributed pumping system compared to a conventional system?
Canned-rotor type of circulates have been manufactured by Grundfos since 1959 and integrated speed drives was introduced in 1991, so the design is incredibly reliable and well tested. The current version of MAGNA3 was realeased in 2012 and more than 1 millions units have been sold worldwide for mixed applications.
The expected lifetime of a MAGNA3 is 10 years, but the pump can easily operate longer than this, and is more than able to match the reliance of any type of control valve....
Explore your options – let’s talk
It is easy to see why so many building owners are motivated to implement energy efficient solutions for their properties and assets.
Are you interested the benefits of Distributed Pumping and want to explore your options further then we are ready to provide you with qualified insights.
