IMPROVING EFFICIENCYIN YOUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Brian GongolDJ Gongol & Associates, Inc.
October 9, 2014
Iowa AWWA Annual Conference
Efficiency: Who really cares?
Of course we SHOULD care
Resources are finite
Water systems are big users of energy
Rate dollars are after-tax dollars
Money saved is a leveraged bonus
Substitution effect
We can say it's all for the environment
But it's really about public health
Money wasted displaces other public goods
The problem is, we really DON'T care
Revealed preferences
What's your household public works budget?
Why we don't really care
Low electrical rates
Cheap borrowing
Low regard for worker time
Public disregard for the state of public works
The day of reckoning cometh
Why we will be forced to care
Rising energy costs
Carbon emission regs and electricity costs
European electricity costs vs. our costs
Anticipated shortages of fresh water
Rising treatment costs pressuring budgets
Declining or flat populations
Aging infrastructure
Higher future interest rates
Shrinking water workforce
Compounding costs of deferred maintenance
Costs of catastrophic failure
Not everything that counts can be measured
But counting is a good place to start
What we might measure to gauge efficiency
Energy consumption
Losses (especially unmetered losses)
Labor costs (including opportunity costs)
Total cost of ownership (TCO)
Everything can be converted to dollars
Even hidden savings deserve a dollar value
Dollars are common currency to every industry
Boards don't want to know your specialty
Part 1: Pump efficiency
Clearances
NSS
Vane adjustments (numbers, angles)
Smooth coatings
Straight pipe entering the suction
Suction diffusers (straightening flow)
Part 2: Motor efficiency
110/220/460 volt differences
VFDs
Soft starters
Two-speed motors
Across-the-line starters
High-efficiency/premium-efficiency
VFD misapplication: Static head prevails
Fill towers at full speed
Hydrostatic tanks
VFD misapplication: Missing the (BE) point
Transmission losses
Part 3: Valves
Surge control
Save on pipe damage
Air control
Maximize pipe diameter
Throttling
Emergency cut-in valves for an emergency
Part 4: Pipework
Bends
Pipe smoothness
Corrosion and losses
Part 5: Labor and (TCO) efficiency
Preventive/predictive maintenance (direct benefits)
Preventive maintenance and knowledge
Labor training and continuous improvement
Quantify downtime
Part 7: Auditing your system
Total water supplied (own plus imports)
Authorized consumption (billed and unbilled)
Losses (apparent and real)
Apparent losses
Unauthorized consumption Metering error Data errors
Real losses
Distribution losses Tank leakage and overflow Service connection leakage
To recap
We ignore efficiency We won't forever Pump efficiency matters It's not the only thing by far Total cost of ownership matters most
Questions?
Thank you for coming!
Thank you for your attention!
Contact us anytime with questions
Brian Gongol DJ Gongol & Associates 515-223-4144 [email protected]
References:
US electric prices: http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/topic/7?
agg=0,1&geo=vvvvvvvvvvvvo&endsec=vg&linechart=ELEC.PRICE.US-ALL.M~~~ELEC.PRICE.WNC-ALL.M&columnchart=ELEC.PRICE.US-ALL.M&map=ELEC.PRICE.US-ALL.M&freq=M&start=200101&end=201402&ctype=linechart<ype=pin&rtype=s&maptype=0&rse=0&pin=
Germany, EU electric prices: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Electricity_and_natural_gas_price
_statistics
Fed funds rate: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/FEDFUNDS
Suction vane drawing and sample pump curve courtesy Patterson Pump Co. Valve photographs courtesy GA Industries Some material in Part 7 adapted from the AWWA water loss auditing tool:
http://www.awwa.org/resources-tools/water-knowledge/water-loss-control.aspx
Special thanks to Shane Kinsey (City of Johnston, Iowa) and Rose Ann DiGiovanni (Patterson Pump Co.) for observations that extended the scope of this presentation
All other photos are original work by and copyright reserved to Brian Gongol
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