LEAKman - Danish leakage management solutions
LEAKman - Danish leakage management solutions
Intelligent management of pumping systems in San Giovanni in Persiceto, Italy

Intelligent management of pumping systems in San Giovanni in Persiceto, Italy

The water supply plant at Via Bassa, San Giovanni in Persiceto, is managed by Gruppo HERA and feeds two aqueduct branches, serving two different parts of the city, including a high water demand hospital. The existing pumping system was made by four end-suction Grundfos pumps controlled to guarantee a discharge pressure of 2.6 bar.

HERA is focused on innovation and new solutions and has a strong partnership with Grundfos not only for new pumps, but also for the design and deployment of tailormade control systems and solutions in the water networks applications.

HERA‘s target in San Giovanni in Persiceto was to stabilise water network pressure and to supply the right pressure 24/7 at the critical points.

The solution

To reach their targets HERA initiated a pump upgrade project handled by Grundfos including several steps; audit on the existing pumping system, pressure monitoring at the network’s critical points, data analysis and reporting to obtain a clear picture of the network and to reveal the potential benefits of different solutions for pressure management.

HERA proceeded as suggested by Grundfos by upgrading to a new and more efficient pumping system and by introducing Demand Driven Distribution (DDD) control logic. Demand Driven Distribution (DDD) is a solution patented by Grundfos for intelligent management of pumping systems, capable of adapting to the actual requirements and service level of the water networks.

The results

Thanks to the DDD control, HERA has been able to stabilise and reduce the pressure at the most critical points guaranteeing a higher comfort to the customers and a lower stress to the entire supply area resulting in reduction of water losses, water hammer and pipe bursts.

Numbers to highlight, due to the DDD control and upgraded pumping system:

  • 2.3 bar at the critical points (instead of previous 2.7 – 3 bar)
  • 110,000 kWh/year estimated energy saving
  • 58,000 m³ of water loss avoided
  • 36 t of CO2 saved
  • 0.09 kWh/m³ specific energy (instead of previous 0.13 kWh/m³)
  • 1 year and 5 months of payback time

Courtesy: Grundfos