The Hydraulic Institute (HI) launched a new feature Aug. 8 on its HI Energy Rating (ER) website to calculate increased power savings from adding more efficient components to pumps listed on the ER Database, and issued an energy rating certificate unique to those extended pump products. Each certificate will be listed in the database, where they can be used by utilities for deemed incentives.
HI reports a beneficial feature of its Energy Rating program is it can capture downstream savings when controls are added by end users or third parties, which it adds are missed in U.S. Dept. of Energy (DoE) requirements. This feature is only applicable when a motor and/or control is added to a pump listed in the ER Database. Using standard calculations in DoE regulations, it lets users calculate a new energy rating after inputting data for the motor and/or control that's being added to the pump, and then opt to generate a certificate.
HI adds ER certificates adds value to the pump marketplace because a significant number of pumps are stocked by distributors without motors or VFDs attached. The certificate lets distributors capture additional power savings when adding a high-efficiency motor to a bare pump to raise the ER above a utility's constant load baseline. It also allows distributors to add a VFD or VFD and motor to a constant load pump to raise the ER above the utility’s variable load baseline.
Finally, the ER metric is a direct calculation from the regulatory required PEI value and represents the percent power savings over a U.S. DoE minimally compliant pump. As pump efficiency regulations come into effect and more incentive programs for efficient pumps are launched, HI's ER label and certificate are becoming more valuable than ever.
