Intelligent pressure management provides utility company with many advantages

The pumping station is equipped with five intelligent pumps from Grundfos.

In Copenhagen, Denmark, the local utility company Frederiksberg Forsyning has invested in intelligent pumps and advanced pump control with Grundfos DDD – Demand Driven Distribution – to reduce water leakage and energy consumption.

A state-of-the-art pumping station has been established by the utility company Frederiksberg Forsyning in the capital of Denmark. Consequently, two District Metered Areas (DMA) in the Copenhagen urban district Frederiksberg will now be supplied with drinking water controlled with Grundfos DDD – Demand Driven Distribution utilising advanced technology and internet of things (IoT).

Using hydraulic modelling the system is designed to ensure the required pressure at all customers. The purpose of the new ‘pressure control station’ is to provide local pressure optimisation in the two DMAs supplied directly from the pumping station. The pumping station is equipped with five intelligent pumps from Grundfos with each a capacity of 45 cubic meters of water per hour (45 m3/h).

Watch the video

Demand Driven Distribution

The pumps operate and are controlled with Grundfos DDD – Demand Driven Distribution. This means that, pressure in the supply area is continuously adjusted to meet the demand at all times – including any emergency needs for fire flow. As a result, the pressure does not drop when demand is high. E.g. the pressure is optimised to meet the demand in the morning, where many households use water for baths and morning routines.

When adjusting the pressure to the current demand, the utility company can optimise the average pressure and avoid operating with a constant high pressure. Intelligent pressure management ensures many advantages for the local utility company:

1. Less stress on the network due to stable, optimised pressure
2. Less water lost at burst and through minor leaks, that inevitably exist in all water supply networks
3. Fewer new leaks occur
4. Reduced energy consumption through improved energy efficiency
5. Reduced operation and maintenance costs

In order to implement Demand Driven Distribution a series of network pressure sensors has been installed in the two District Metered Areas. The Demand Driven Distribution controller has been connected to the network pressure sensors. This allows for control of the pumps in accordance with data logged on a daily basis using an adaptive control algorithm. The measured data are then used for adaptive control of the pumping station which enables the pumps to supply the required pressure according to the demand at all times.

Part of the LEAKman project

The new approach to local pressure optimisation with Grundfos DDD is implemented in two of the 20 District Metered Areas in Frederiksberg Forsyning. In these two areas there are a potential to operate at a lower water pressure when the actual demand is low. As a result, the pressure is continuously optimized in the network whilst ensuring a more stable, and minimum required pressure at all customers.

This implementation of Grundfos DDD is a part of the LEAKman project – a partnership initiated to demonstrate Danish solutions for limiting drinking water loss and pave the way for new technology. Read more about the nine partner companies here.

In this case, the LEAKman partner Grundfos provided five of their highly energy efficient pumps. The consulting engineer NIRAS – also a LEAKman partner – contributed with knowledge, hydraulic modelling in the design phase and when constructing the pumping station building.

Coutesy Grundfos