How Vitens increased operational efficiency by 7% through real-time asset measurements

Vitens’ ambitious strategy to improve sustainability with industrial efficiency

“Every Drop Sustainable,” that’s the vision at the heart of Vitens, the largest drinking water company in The Netherlands. The utility delivers high-quality drinking water to 5.6 million people and companies in 7 of the 12 Dutch provinces. Vitens understands that reliable drinking water is a necessity for our health and well-being, and securing the supply of this essential resource has to be sustainable and cost effective. As a company that places global responsibility at the heart of its long-term vision, Vitens is committed to creating a sustainable water ecosystem by 2030.

To this end, Vitens is investing in innovative solutions, using data smartly to improve its operational performance. Through continuous (real-time) measurement and the use of algorithms, model calculations and scenario analysis, a more constant and reliable drinking water quality and quantity can be produced and delivered. This sets Vitens at the forefront of water industry innovation to improve efficiency and sustainability. Reducing energy consumption and emissions plays a key role in this journey for Vitens, especially in light of climate change issues, a volatile energy market and rising energy prices. Pumps are the lifeblood of  Vitens’ daily operations with majority of electricity consumption used in groundwater extraction and clean water distribution. Improving pump performance and efficiency will therefore have a positive impact on Vitens’ operations in reducing energy consumption, costs and environmental impact.

Vitens partnered with Samotics to undertake a proof-of-value pilot at one of the production facilities. The aim of this pilot was to demonstrate the ability of Samotics’ continuous asset monitoring solutions to improve the performance and energy efficiency of critical pumps. Samotics was chosen due to the performance they have shown in this area in the water industry. This case study highlights how this pilot improved the operational efficiency of a Vitens pumping station by more than 7% with the implementation of simple process changes.

Analyzing an important part of a vast water network

To be able to continuously supply reliable and affordable drinking water, Vitens requires a vast drinking water infrastructure. 117 extraction fields with 1,250 extraction wells for groundwater extraction, 100 water treatment works, 49,000 kilometres of water mains and 1,400 employees are needed to deliver 350 million m³ water annually across a large area of The Netherlands. At the heart of this are thousands of pumps including borehole pumps and clean water distribution pumps. In 2021, energy consumption across the Vitens network amounted to 171 GWh. Vitens has ambitious plans to reduce this level of energy consumption as part of their 2030 sustainability goals. It has been estimated that across industry globally up to 40% of energy used by industrial equipment driven by electric motors is wasted due to operational inefficiencies, process-machine mismatches, and developing damage. This therefore provides quite a large scope for efficiency improvements across all industries.

The Vitens production facility in Hoenderloo, in the Dutch province of Gelderland, was chosen as the optimal location to perform this proof-of-value pilot with Samotics. At this facility, Vitens pumps water to the surface using a group of borehole pumps. After being treated, the clean water is distributed further to three locations via dedicated pump stations on site.

Implementing an advanced analytics solution that can integrate with Vitens’ systems

Since 2010, Vitens has been working on the innovation program SLIMM, which stands for Self Learning Integrated Model based Management. The aim of this project is to digitize and automate water network management processes, so that the quality of the drinking water produced and distributed can be continuously controlled, and as efficiently and effectively as possible. One key element of the Hoenderloo pilot was to determine if Samotics advanced analytics solution could be integrated with Vitens SLIMM system. This was successful.

A combined Samotics analytics solution was implemented for continuous monitoring of all 17 pumps at the Hoenderloo production facility (nine borehole pumps and eight clean water distribution pumps). This consisted of: energy sensors, which were installed inside the motor control cabinet for the pumps to gather electrical data; a gateway for initial signal processing
and distribution; and access to Samotics’ benchmark analytics platform to transform this electrical data into asset performance/efficiency recommendations. With no sensors needing to be installed on any of the pumps themselves, the installation could be performed quickly and data analytics could commence.

A key element of this total solution, specifically covering energy efficiency, is called SAM4, the results of which are covered in this case study. The solution was implemented to determine its ability to locate and diagnose energy waste for the pumps and generate solutions to these issues to help Vitens lower energy consumption, costs and associated emissions for these pumps. At a broader level, SAM4 focuses on the full efficiency of the pump motor set-up in the field, distinguishing motor and pump efficiency per asset (component efficiency), looking at asset efficiency (full pump set-up) and higher level
efficiency (like pumping stations with co-located pumps).

By incorporating advanced analytics into their water management strategy and systems, Vitens was aiming to determine where these pumps were not running under the most efficient modes of operation (as close to best efficiency point as possible) or could potentially be outsized for purpose.

Locating pump energy inefficiencies and generating solutions

During the pilot, a focus was placed on three clean water distribution pumps that form the core of a pumping station that distributes clean water to Otterlo/Ede located not far from the Hoenderloo production facility. These pumps are critical to the supply of water to customers during both peak and non-peak times. It is quite common to have multiple pumps of different sizes to work together in specific locations to meet demand variations. The three clean water distribution pumps include two larger 55 kW distribution pumps (RNP8 and RNP9) and a smaller 11 kW distribution pump (RNP7). See the illustration below for an overview of the set-up.

Following sensor installation, the SAM4 platform informed Vitens that the two larger pumps (RNP8 and RNP9) were often used inefficiently to supply flow rates that could be independently covered far more efficiently by the smaller pump. SAM4 further determined that a significant part of the energy losses were due to the mode of operation introducing operational efficiency losses in the pump and associated electric motor accounting for about 10% of total efficiency losses.

Pump curve (top) showing areas of operation far away from the pump’s best efficiency point of pump RNP8 in February 2022 (RNP9 showed similar inefficient operation). It can be seen in the metrics (bottom) generated by SAM4 Energy that the efficiency of both these two 55kW pumps is around 69%, below what is classed as efficient operation.

The operational losses of pumps RNP8 and RNP9 account for about 10% total efficiency losses. These losses can be reduced by improving the operation of the pumps.

Putting generated advice into practice and tracking pump improvements

Vitens implemented two simple setting changes advised by the SAM4 platform to achieve more efficient pumping during low-flow periods. In phase one of these activities, the changeover flow threshold was adjusted: the flow threshold at which the 11kW pump delivered flow was increased, as the 11kW pump could deliver the low flow independently and more efficiently than two 55kW pumps. The resulting flow, energy consumption and efficiency was thereafter tracked using the SAM4 platform.

The second phase of this operational change increased the speed of the 11kW pump in order to further widen the useful operating range of the smaller pump to deliver increased flow at the required pressure. This was performed by increasing the supply frequency of the VFD, without exceeding the motor’s nominal power and pump’s capabilities. This resulted in a larger feasible flow range for the 11kW pump, only switching on the larger pumps when this was truly necessary.

The two simple process changes implemented had a significant effect on the efficiency of the three pumps at one of the pumping stations at the Hoenderloo production facility. When taking the distribution of running time, pressure and flow into account in the old and new situations, the pumping station’s overall electrical efficiency increased by 7.1%.

Following implementation of the two process changes, each pump was operating to a greater degree under more efficient operating conditions (green zones) and less under more inefficient conditions (red zones). Here is the situation of one of the larger 55kW pumps before (left) and after (right) the process changes were implemented.

Validating results

Once these simple process changes were implemented, the improvement in the situation could be seen immediately via the SAM4 platform in the energy monitor and the generated pump curve. The relatively simple operational changes could be made without additional investment and resulted in all three pumps operating closer to their best efficiency points. This increased pump efficiency and reliability. The total pump station efficiency improved by 7.1%, taking into account the distribution of running time, pressure and flow in the old and new situations.

This translates to yearly electricity savings of €2,500 across the three pumps and an associated reduction of 9.2 tonnes of CO2 based on energy reduction alone. An additional point of significance is the fact that inefficient operation can double the chance of failure and shorten lifespan of industrial equipment. This implies that further savings can be accrued from improved operational health.

We are seeing that most energy is consumed at Vitens by pumps to distribute clean water to our customers. We have seen very quickly from this SAM4 pilot that there is a lot to gain from improving the pumps’ operational efficiency and thereby reduce their energy consumption while still meeting demand.

Rein Wuestman, Process Engineer, Vitens

A bright outlook for sustainable water supply

In order to deliver water to its customers in a more sustainable way, Vitens is looking for more innovative means to meet the challenges it faces in the run up to 2030 and beyond. With the increasing costs and volatility associated with the energy market, it is becoming even more of a focus to reduce energy consumption from both a cost and sustainability perspective.

For Vitens, working together with Samotics has demonstrated that using advanced analytics on energy data at one of their pumping stations has secured recurring yearly savings in energy consumption, costs and a reduction in associated emissions. The method used for realizing energy savings in this assessment is also extremely translatable to other pumps across the Vitens network.

Undertaking this SAM4 proof-of-value pilot has proven a positive experience for Vitens and Samotics. It has demonstrated how electrical efficiency can be significantly improved, and in a short time frame, by locating energy inefficiencies in industrial pumps, generating concrete solutions to these inefficiencies and implementing simple process changes that involve no additional investment.

It also demonstrated that implementing such a system can be performed quickly and be able to integrate with Vitens’ own systems. For Vitens, this means that moving towards a more sustainable water ecosystem is that much closer.