Know your flow / Reaching higher productivity

Get higher productivity in water utilities

Like all industrial production operations, water and wastewater processes can be optimized via automation to cut wastage and reduce expenses. Water utilities can make significant gains in overall efficiency by correctly matching their specific process with the latest automation technologies. To accomplish this, we offer energy and productivity assessments that are tailor-made for water systems.

Water and wastewater systems present huge opportunities for cost savings and reduced raw material consumption – if they are dimensioned to their peak performance point. Automation solutions can be the key to exploiting this potential for improvement. Automation in this sense means the right combination of drives, motors, PLCs, pressure sensors, flowmeters, and data systems. ABB’s energy and productivity assessments help you get an understanding of how optimally your water system is currently running. The assessments provide systematic analysis of the combined effect of various equipment, optimally matching it to your specific water or wastewater system.

The large kW/hp pumps in water systems are very big users of electrical energy. At the same time utilities face strict demands, often legally binding, to provide 100% availability for water delivery or wastewater treatment. Therefore, energy costs and system reliability are critical challenges for water utilities. To address these, we have a full portfolio of water-specific automation solutions – motors, drives, PLCs, sensors, flowmeters and software.

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Variable speed drives targeted for water

Drives are the key starting point in any attempt to gain process efficiencies. ABB’s full range of LV and MV drives, tailored for water handling, save you energy while running with excellent stability for reduced network stress.

The ACQ580 low voltage drive, for example, has custom water functions which make it perfect for these applications. The robust ACQ580 features sensorless flow calculations, multi-pump control, tank level control, soft-fill algorithms, and dry run protection. It also has built-in energy calculators so you immediately see changes in energy consumption when you try different configurations. This insight gives powerful possibilities to optimize your process.

Don’t be afraid to use the full potential

Having a drive installed is a start, but using all its software functionalities to maximum potential is where the real gains appear. Our professional commissioning services help secure easy initial startup, as well as long-term reliability, for maximum energy savings and uptime in the entire process. Once correctly set up, the user-friendly interface is easily customized by the operator for greatest benefits.

Motors that say “It’s time for service”

Motors, correctly paired with drives, are the powerful and smart workhorses of these systems. We supply a full range for water applications, including Low voltage and high voltage IEC motors, as well as NEMA motors up to several MW. Made of either cast iron or aluminum, these robust motors can handle tough environments, while still being easy and flexible to customize.

All ABB motors are designed to give superior reliability over a long lifetime. Diagnostic tools for preventive/predictive maintenance manage condition monitoring – either on-site or remotely – to detect and notify you of service needs before troublesome failures. ABB Ability TM Smart Sensor gives real-time insight into the motor condition while running. In addition, ABB’s soft starters manage starting currents to protect the motor from stress and increase its life.

For larger systems, PLCs with embedded water libraries can control up to eight pumps, while also doing condition monitoring on the pump system. Further productivity gains and protection from breakdowns are possible using new measurement tools and remote monitoring insight.

WaterMaster - the perfect fit for all water industry flow applications

WaterMaster is the ultimate solution for flow measurement and management in sectors as diverse as water, waste water, sewage and effluent. WaterMaster's performance adheres to the most stringent global industry standards and is certified to key international approvals. Proven in the toughest applications, Its rugged, robust and buriable sensors eliminate the need of expensive meter chambers. Thereby, WaterMaster flowmeters provide a long, productive and maintenance-free asset life. Take advantage of its innovative and versatile attributes to achieve interoperability within a wide range of asset management systems.

Overall network monitoring

For overall network-wide monitoring and control, the ABB zenon Operations Data Management software is perfect. This scalable software combines supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) functions with various HMI options and controls a broad range of systems, from simple discrete booster stations up to large process plants, supporting numerous communication protocols into the field, to higher level systems and into the cloud. To keep an extra watchful eye on your vast water network, the NETA-21 IoT gateway allows remote monitoring of ABB drives via a web browser-based platform, either through direct remote connection or through our cloud service ABB Ability™ Condition Monitoring for Drives.

Mix-and-match for advanced productivity

ABB’s wide array of automation equipment can be mixed and matched to give you the ideal process control and monitoring system for your water network. With many of these devices equipped with water-specific functionality, you now have powerful new tools to help you squeeze out unnecessary costs, while at the same time proactively monitoring the system to increase both productivity and reliability. What are you waiting for?

Case: Energy savings with drive and SynRM package
ACQ580 drives for water and wastewater
SynRM motors
Vertigal Gear Motors
Modular induction motors
Water flow meters
Water dedicated drives
Motors and generators
Automation
Water meters
Soft starters
zenon – IoT software
For drives
Service solutions
For motors
Service solutions
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