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Wilo introduces convenient electronic control of pressure boosting systems
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In larger buildings such as taller residential premises – flats and apartment blocks, hotels, hospitals as well as offices and industrial buildings, the pressure provided by the water supplier is often not sufficient to boost the water for all potable water tap connections in the building especially where the pressure provided has been or will be reduced shortly by the water company to reduce leakage rates and help the water companies to achieve their leakage reduction targets.
Where this is the case, pressure boosting systems have to be installed, usually in the basement areas, to guarantee a sufficient and constant water pressure. These systems, designed as individual or multi-pump systems, react to the varying demands of the water supply from the building and adjust the pressure levels utilised to meet those needs on an on-going basis. To achieve this flexibility, the booster systems tend to be made up of several smaller pumps rather than a single larger booster pump. This provides the opportunity for the pumps to rotate in use, with additional capacity available for peak demand times such as early morning and late afternoon.
New generation pressure boosting systems come with automatic electronics with which the pumps can be operated in a very quiet and energy-saving way. Wilo offers one of the most advanced control systems with its ‘CC-Booster’ (‘Comfort Controller’) switchgear. The company is one of the leading suppliers of pumps and pump systems and supplies, and is supplying ‘ready for installation’ pressure boosting systems for potable water supplies across the UK.
The core of the ‘CC-Booster’ is a programmable memory control (SPS) developed by Wilo, which comfortably controls the fully automatic control and pressure boosting systems with up to six individual pumps as standard. The pressure of the water supply system is controlled load-dependent via signal transmitters. The ‘CC-Booster’ has input to a frequency converter, which in turn influences the speed of the base-load pump. As the flow rate demand required alters, the speed of the base load pump is regulated automatically, if the demand exceeds the ability of the base load pump, additional pumps will be sequentially cascaded (on and off) whilst the base load pumps speed regulates to ensure the required set pressure value remains constant. As an alternative, the ‘CC-Booster’ is also available without a frequency converter. In these systems, the pumps are switched on or off, load dependent, in cascade form.
The multifunctional touch-screen in the switch cabinet door, ensures the Wilo ‘Comfort Controller’ is very simple to operate. Pump and system status, as well as the current system pressure are permanently displayed on the screen. A user friendly navigation menu facilitates the operation and the setting of the set points. The backlight ensures the displays are clearly visible at all times, wherever they may be installed. The display has three options – green (normal operation), red (fault) or orange (fault signal acknowledged). The display has flexible graphics capabilities and can be provided with freely programmable symbols for each customer. Up to 15 European and Asian languages can be programmed into the navigation menu. Fault and alarm signals are displayed optionally via short message or can be displayed remotely.
The ‘CC-Booster’ is expandable with other optional modules for remote diagnosis and maintenance as well as being available with a modem, ISDN terminal, GSM modem or web server. The pressure boosting systems can be easily integrated into building management systems using bus systems like Profibus, Modbus, LON or CAN-Bus, as well as through other data protocols like the Ethernet HTML or TCP/IP. This is because the technology of the ‘intelligent building’ can control and monitor functional areas in more and more buildings and, as well as standard modern technology, it can also access control and fire protection systems. Vitally, as well as the increased user convenience this offers, this also considerably reduces operating costs.
Also feasible if required are tailor-made adjustments of the ‘CC-Booster’ to meet the demands of building management systems through the integration of modules for remote set point adjustment, remote signal of the pump status as well as extensive diagnosis functions. All components utilised in the system correspond to international industry standards, to meet the need for world-wide compatibility.
