AC-75-04-1 -- Energy Conservation and Pumping System Design PDF

Variable speed pumping is necessary for the delivery of water in domestic supply systems and the circulation of water or the transfer of energy in closed chilled-water and hot-water heating systems. Its increased use has been caused by the need to conserve energy, because careful consideration of the many factors that affect pumping horsepower will produce designs that will distribute water when and where desired at minimum pump power levels.

The 1973 Systems Volume of the ASHRAE Handbook &Product Directory in Chapter 15 "Basic Water System Design" states that "the design of successful and economical water systems depends upon the awareness of the many complex inter-relationships which exist between the various elements of the system. No component in the system can be selected without regard to the effect of its selection on other elements". It also recommends that the designer work back and forth between tentative basing points and consequential effects until a satisfactory integrated design has been reached.

An evaluation of the relationships that exist within any p1p1ng system will very often show that significant savings in pump energy can easily be made.