Proper sizing of circulation pumps

Henrik Tommerup and Jørgen S. Nørgård, Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark

Keywords

electricity savings, energy efficiency, circulation pumps, space heating systems, research strategy

Abstract

The paper describes the preliminary results from field tests of replacing various types of old pumps used for circulating water in heating systems in single- and double-family houses with new types of pumps. The tests were carried out in Denmark for the Danish Electricity Savings Trust, but the results can be applied to Europe in general. Despite the small sample of houses involved in the test, 15 houses, some rather safe conclusions can be drawn from the results, which showed that newly developed pumps with power consumption around 5-8 W, can perform the task of circulating the water sufficiently to keep the houses satisfactorily warm during the heating season of the test. The old replaced pumps used 5-10 times more power. In Europe alone, a gradual replacement of the present vastly oversized pumps with such small but sufficient pumps can save the construction of 17 large power plants as well as their pollution during operation. Policy measures are proposed of how to ensure that in the future only such energy saving pumps are installed. Furthermore, on the basis of the historic experiences with circulation pumps some conclusions are drawn on how to investigate, develop and market new technologies in general.