Customer Story
The Netherlands' largest drinking water company used SAM4 Energy to pinpoint pump inefficiencies at a production facility, then implemented two zero-cost operational changes that improved pumping station efficiency by 7.1%.
Overview
Vitens supplies drinking water to 5.6 million people across 7 Dutch provinces. With a vision of "Every Drop Sustainable," the company partnered with Samotics to run a proof-of-value pilot at its Hoenderloo production facility, focusing on energy efficiency across 17 pumps.
The pilot revealed substantial opportunities for operational optimization through data-driven insights into real-time pump performance.
The Challenge
Vitens operates a vast network — 117 extraction fields, 100 water treatment works, 49,000 km of mains. Energy consumption across the network hit 171 GWh in 2021. Industry data suggests up to 40% of industrial motor energy is wasted through inefficient operation.
Vitens needed a way to identify which pumps were running outside their best efficiency point and quantify the waste. Traditional approaches couldn't provide continuous visibility into real-time pump operating conditions relative to their efficiency curves.
The Solution
SAM4 Energy sensors were installed in the motor control cabinets for all 17 pumps at Hoenderloo — nine borehole and eight distribution pumps. The platform revealed that two 55kW distribution pumps (RNP8 and RNP9) were regularly used to supply flow rates that the smaller 11kW pump could handle far more efficiently.
SAM4 quantified the operational losses at 10% of total efficiency and recommended two changes: adjust the changeover threshold and increase the small pump's VFD frequency. Both changes were implemented with zero capital cost.
The Results
Overall pumping station efficiency improvement from two simple operational process changes.
Recurring annual electricity cost savings across three pumps from optimized operation.
Annual emissions reduction from energy savings alone, supporting sustainability goals.
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.
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