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Practice Pumping Questions

PumpingQuestion 1 of 20

A wastewater lift station uses a centrifugal pump on a VFD. At 60 Hz, the pump operates where the pump curve intersects the system curve in the table provided. A portable power meter shows the motor is drawing 22.0 kW at that operating point. During low-flow hours, the operator plans to reduce speed from 60 Hz to 48 Hz (a 20% reduction). Assume pump and motor efficiency stay the same and use the affinity law for power: P2/P1 = (N2/N1)^3. The pump runs an average of 1,200 min/day and the electric rate is $0.11 per kWh. Motor nameplate (extraneous): 40 hp, 460 V, 3-phase, 52 A, 92% efficiency, SF 1.15. Based on the affinity law, what is the approximate DAILY dollar savings from reducing speed to 48 Hz during the entire run time?

Pump Curve
Flow (gpm)Head (ft)
60080
70076
80071
90064
1,00055
1,10044
System Curve
Flow (gpm)Head (ft)
60040
70048
80056
90064
1,00073
1,10083