Sustainable Water Supply Systems Management for Energy Efficiency: A Case Study

Abstract

A prerequisite for achieving high energy efficiency of water supply systems (understood as using less energy to perform the same task) is the appropriate selection of all elements and their rational use. Energy consumption in water supply systems (WSS) is closely connected with water demand. Especially in the case of oversized water supply systems for which consumers’ water demand is at least 50% less than previously planned and flow velocity in some parts of the system is below 0.01 m·s−1, this problem of excessive energy consumption can be observed. In the literature, it is difficult to find descriptions and methods of energy management for such a case. The purpose of this study was both an evaluation of the current demand of an oversized WSS and a preliminary technical analysis of the possibility for energy saving. Solutions are presented that resulted in improvements in energy management, thus increasing energy efficiency. The conducted analyses indicate the wide use of numerical, hydraulic models, among others, for the needs of the sustainable oversize water supply systems management in order to improve energy efficiency. Those simulations only give energy consumption results as a first step in the process of decision-making for the modernization process, in which investment costs should be taken into account as a second step. Thus, this paper emphasizes the crucial role of hydraulic models as a good analytical tool used in decision support systems (DSS), especially for large, oversized water supply systems.

Efficient Energy Management for the Smart Sustainable City Multifloor Manufacturing Clusters: A Formalization of the Water Supply System Operation Conditions Based on Monitoring Water Consumption Profiles

“…The main energy resource that ensures the WSS operation is electrical energy. Technological facilities of the WSS consume a large amount of electricity at each stage of the water supply process [5,63,64]. According to the EU Directive (2018), electricity consumption in the water supply and sanitation sector accounts for 3.5% of electricity consumption in the EU [15].…”

“…The features of the water supply process, in particular, the use of water as a product and as a natural resource, not only determine the efficiency of electricity use in individual structural elements but also affect the efficiency of energy resource use in the WSS as a whole. The pumping stations subsystem, which ensures water pumping, is the largest consumer of electrical energy among the subsystems involved in the water supply process [5,60,[63][64][65][66][67][68]. The electricity consumption for pumping water depends on the volume of pumped water and the generated head (pressure).…”

“…The electricity consumption for pumping water depends on the volume of pumped water and the generated head (pressure). The operating modes of pumping stations depend on changes in the conditions of water consumption (volume and daily fluctuations of water consumption) [63]. Water consumption is uneven over the course of the day [57,69], as well as over the course of the week, month, and year, and arises under the influence of many independent factors: seasonal, climatic (precipitation, air temperature) [59], social (working hours of companies and organizations of the CMFMCs, weekdays, weekends, governmental and religious holidays).…”

A Contribution to Increasing Efficiency in the Water Utility Sector—A Case Study in Kosovo

“…An evaluation of the recent demand for an oversized water supply system and a preliminary technical analysis of the possibility of energy saving as a solution has resulted in improvements in energy management, which has contributed to increasing energy efficiency [10]. Although the overall management of water losses should be based on an integral approach for NRW reduction in water distribution networks based on field activities, optimization, GIS applications, usage of different types of models and other digital technologies [11,12], and pressure management can be considered some of the key measures needed to achieve overall sustainability in the water supply system.…”

Aspects of Energy Saving of Oil-Producing Enterprises

“…To solve practical tasks of a complex efficient use of energy, the enterprises are following the requirements of ISO 50001 [2][3][4][5]. Despite geographic, cultural and social conditions, the enterprises of any type and size are developing systems and processes for improvement of energy efficiency [6][7][8]. Successful implementation depends on liabilities taken at all levels and across all functional areas [9,10].…”