A Grundfos Hydro MPC-E booster pump set with four 7,5 kW motors and CIM 500 control system installed at the Hilton Hotel in Sandton is delivering both environmental and cost-saving benefits.

“The new energy efficient system has helped reduce our carbon footprint and combat climate change – an important part of our social responsibility,” says Charmaine Spasojevic, chief engineer at the Hilton Hotel.

Spasojevic says the cost saving will be achieved not only through the consumption of less electricity, but through reduced maintenance. This is due to the elimination of the separate variable speed drives (VSDs), meaning fewer items of plant to maintain. Management at the 12-floor, 329-room hotel will also have real-time access to operating data from the pump set.

“The system integrates seamlessly with our building management system (BMS), allowing us full control over our service,” she says. The Grundfos CIM 500 control system allows the hotel to monitor various aspects of the pump set, including its running hours, energy consumption and discharge pressure, as well as any power supply problems or water shortages.

According to Errol Dobson, Grundfos SA’s team leader building service, the Grundfos Hydro MPC-E maintains a constant pressure through continuous adjustment of the speed of the pumps.

“The system’s performance is therefore adapted to the demand through the pumps being cut in and out as required, and through parallel control of the pumps in operation,” says Dobson. “Constant pressure control is also ensured through the continuous variable adjustment of the speed of each individual pump.”

The solution was designed and supplied in collaboration with Johan Truter, sales director at API Pumps Gauteng, and installed in June 2020. Grundfos service engineer Marius van Wyk commissioned the pump set, which will be serviced and maintained through a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Grundfos.