Energy Cost Optimization in a Water Supply System Case Study

The majority of the life cycle costs (LCC) of a pump are related to the energy spent in pumping, with the rest being related to the purchase and maintenance of the equipment. Any optimizations in the energy efficiency of the pumps result in a considerable reduction of the total operational cost. The Fatima water supply system in Portugal was analyzed in order to minimize its operational energy costs. Different pump characteristic curves were analyzed and modeled in order to achieve the most efficient operation point. To determine the best daily pumping operational scheduling pattern, genetic algorithm (GA) optimization embedded in the modeling software was considered in contrast with a manual override (MO) approach. The main goal was to determine which pumps and what daily scheduling allowed the best economical solution. At the end of the analysis it was possible to reduce the original daily energy costs by 43.7%. This was achieved by introducing more appropriate pumps and by intelligent programming of their operation. Given the heuristic nature of GAs, different approaches were employed and the most common errors were pinpointed, whereby this investigation can be used as a reference for similar future developments.

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