ET23SWE0039 - Wastewater Pump Measure Development
California eTRM (Electronic Technical Reference Manual) already offers a statewide deemed measure for clean water pumps, providing energy savings values and a path for payment of rebates for pump replacement and improving their efficiency. However, wastewater pumps do not currently have a statewide-deemed measure. Although the chemistry of the fluid is different, both clean water pumps and wastewater pumps have similar viscosity and experience the same efficiency-related challenges.
Typically, these issues include degradation and deterioration of efficiency due to changing operating conditions, and in general, newer pumps have slightly better efficiency due to better manufacturing techniques. As such, although California currently has a statewide-deemed measure and available rebate for a pump replacement if it serves clean water (eTRM measure SWWP004), the same incentives are not available if the pump serves a sewer system.
One of the reasons a deemed measure is not available for wastewater pumps is due to the higher variability of a typical pump’s operating hours; whether they are installed in a sewer collection system or in a wastewater treatment plant. The project team proposes a study to come up with the data needed to develop a deemed measure for wastewater pumps. The study will draw upon hundreds of pumps supported by California water treatment plant program-related projects for the wastewater treatment plant operating hours data, and leverage the existing clean water pump measure, SWWP004, for savings calculation methodology since the pumps in use are the same for clean water and wastewater applications.
In collaboration with the CalNEXT program, designed and implemented by Energy Solutions and funded by California (CA) utility customers, Alternative Energy Systems Consulting (AESC) has developed the necessary data for the development of a deemed measure offering for the replacement of wastewater pumps, for eventual application within the statewide program. The CA Electronic Technical Reference Manual (eTRM) is an online repository for all statewide deemed measures for CA that ensures the accuracy, transparency, and accessibility of all deemed measure values. Among the 171 offerings within the eTRM is an offering for the replacement of clean water pumps (Statewide Measure ID SWWP004) with high-efficiency units. As the existing offering is applicable only to clean water pumps within the commercial, industrial, and agricultural sectors, a gap exists for the replacement of pumps within the wastewater industry. The study draws upon data from hundreds of pumps supported by CA wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) program-related projects as well as the existing measure methodologies to provide the framework needed for the development of a new statewide offering.
