Properly sized and operated pumps can reduce pump electricity costs by 80 per cent

(10/01/2007)

With little effort, many owners of houses and flats can substantially reduce their consumption of electricity. PumpsCheck, the Internet adviser of the non-profit consultancy co2online assesses the electricity consumption and cost-effectiveness of heating pumps.

Very often they prove to be real electricity wasters. Permanently in operation and with unnecessarily high power settings they are among the largest individual consumers of electricity in one-family and apartment houses.

Dr. Johannes D. Hengstenberg, Managing Director of co2online, makes the point that "properly sized and operated pumps can easily reduce pump electricity costs in many households by 80 per cent. It is therefore worthwhile for owners of houses and flats to examine electricity consumption in their boiler rooms with PumpsCheck."

On the basis of key data on a building and the heating pump entered by users, they quickly obtain clear and comprehensible results in the form of diagrams and tables. This way, owners and property managers learn within a few minutes how much money and electricity they can save: reduced operating time and an adjusted power setting result in many cases in reduced consumption.

The PumpsCheck comparison of total costs offers a reliable indication of when pump replacement makes economic sense. In addition, PumpsCheck users can also obtain information on pump manufacturers and the addresses of experts and advice centres.

In Germany, PumpsCheck has already provided advice to 130,000 property owners. The outcome: With the right technology so much electricity could be saved in Germany that a medium-sized nuclear power plant could be shut down. The waste of electricity is particularly great in one- and two-family houses: 95 per cent have oversized pumps, and almost half of them consume at least five times the optimum electricity consumption.

Annual electricity costs of several hundred euros for pumps are quickly run up. In apartment houses, too, a lot of money can generally be saved: In at least three-quarters of buildings the pump consumes too much electricity, and in just under half of them more than twice as much as is necessary.

One reason for the waste of electricity is the age of pumps. Many no longer reflect latest developments in technology. In Germany, every second pump is more than ten years old. Here, replacement by a modern pump is generally a good idea, since they are more efficient. Furthermore, the power provided by pumps is often much greater than that required. Pumps with more than 100 watts are not unusual in one- and two-family houses, where nowadays 15 watts are sufficient.

Even modern pumps are often too big, because an old pump has simply been replaced with a new one with the same capacity, without actual requirements having been examined. When replacing a pump it is also advisable to pay attention to its electricity consumption. Since 2005, an EU label identifies the energy efficiency of domestic heating pumps, as in the case of refrigerators and lamp bulbs. Further information is provided at www.energyproject.com.

Many pumps are operated at the highest power setting, even when the lowest would be sufficient. Just as absurd, yet widely spread, is pump operation in the summer – when the heating is turned off anyway – or in the middle of the night. Modern load-regulated pumps operate only when they are actually needed and switch back when heating is reduced during the night. Hot-water recirculating pumps can be regulated with a time switch, so that they run only when required.

In Germany, pump replacement proves worthwhile for every second user of PumpsCheck, and the installation of a new pump pays for itself, on average, in less than five years. The results of the advice obviously have an effect. Two-thirds of property owners have a new pump installed after using PumpsCheck, and through early replacement they avoid 40,000 tonnes of climatically harmful carbon dioxide.

Grundfos has launched the ALPHA Pro, an intelligent A energy-rated pump for central heating systems which adapts to provide only the heat required, helping save you money on your electricity bills, while protecting the environment by reducing CO2 emissions.

Related categories:  Energy Conservation   Hot water generation and supply   Pumps   Residential applications 

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