Saneago, the water company in the Brazilian state of Goiás, has deployed an ABB AbilityTM Digital Powertrain solution to improve the energy efficiency and reliability of four key pumping stations. Installing smart variable speed drives (VSDs) and high-efficiency motors has enabled a 25 percent reduction in the cost of drawing water from several water resources. In addition, remote condition-based monitoring also ensures a secure supply of drinking water for more than 5.7 million people and thousands of industrial and agricultural users.
The project started with an energy survey that indicated the potential for Saneago to save more than 6,000 MWh per year – worth around US$700k. ABB delivered this saving through its channel partner in Brazil, BEU Engenharia. It installed 15 high-efficiency motors and 15 ACQ580 water-dedicated drives to control the speed and torque of the water pumps.
To help Saneago improve the overall reliability and resilience of its operations, ABB installed smart sensors on the pumps and motors and the NETA-21 remote monitoring tool on the drives. The smart sensors and NETA-21 are part of the ABB Ability Digital Powertrain offering that enables remote monitoring of drives, motors, pumps and bearings.
Osmar Qualhato Junior, Energy Management Supervisor at Saneago, said: “One of our biggest operating overheads is the energy for pumping water. Installing ABB’s Digital Powertrain has achieved our objective of a major increase in energy efficiency. The remote monitoring also gives us powerful new capabilities to get a deeper insight and a better overview of all our water equipment, 24 hours a day. We are now able to act well in advance before any failure occurs.”
“Combining ABB high-efficiency products with our digital solutions is the perfect match for the water industry,” said Rodrigo Teixeira, water and wastewater segment manager, ABB Motion Brazil. “In addition to the energy savings, water operators can cut maintenance costs and improve reliability.”.
The smart sensors have already helped to detect a case of excessive motor vibration, which was corrected early, avoiding major damage and saving considerable time, money and trouble.
