The synergistic combination of electronics, mechanics and computing found in an intelligent pump enable more efficient operation to reduce energy consumption. The worldwide market for Intelligent Pumps is expected to grow at a rate somewhat less than the total automation market, but is expected to a bright spot in the overall pump market which has been projected to be flat.
Intelligent pumps are an ideal fit for the building automation sector where their unique characteristics enable them to automatically adjust to the wide range of system demands of climate control applications. “Energy savings is the attribute most closely associated with intelligent pumps, but they have more to offer. More efficient operation also enables improved process control and intelligence allows predictive asset management,” according to senior analyst Paula Hollywood (phollywood@arcweb.com), the principal author of ARC’s “Intelligent Pumps Worldwide Outlook” (www.arcweb.com/res/pump).
Heavy Process Industries Slow to Adopt
Unlike the building automation sector, the industrial manufacturing sector has not yet wholeheartedly embraced intelligent pumps. Benefits such as improved energy efficiency and process control have not been enough to advance widespread implementation in process manufacturing. Factors such as perceived complexity and high initial cost continue to outweigh the benefits in industrial manufacturing. Certainly, the current economic downturn has impacted capital project spending, but the work culture in these industries may be the greatest challenge to intelligent pump growth.
Intelligent Pumps in Advanced Process Control
Process disturbances as a result of load changes, set point changes, or from discontinuous operation can cause process variability. Regardless of the source, variability affects product quality, reduces equipment reliability and life, and causes excessive energy consumption. Optimization will only generate benefits when there are a sufficient number of disturbances and constraints to the operation such that the optimum operating point changes with some regularity, the ideal application for an intelligent pump.
Government Incentives Expected to Spur Growth
Tax credits and government economic stimulus packages targeting energy efficiency will have a positive impact on market growth. For example, the US Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allocated $4.5 billion to increase their energy efficiency in federal buildings, a prime market for intelligent pumps. The European Union has enacted an aggressive energy policy referred to as the “20-20-20 initiative” where it will reduce greenhouse emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020 compared with 1990 levels. One strategy is to increase energy efficiency by 20 percent.
For more information on this study, visit www.arcweb.com/res/pump.