Variable speed drive-based pressure optimization of a pumping system comprising individual branch flow control elements

Circulation pumping systems hold energy savings potential, which can be seized with intelligent control. In this paper, a novel variable speed drive based method for minimizing the required pump pressure of a pumping system that has individual branch flow control elements is introduced. The method can be used to save energy for example in central heating circulation applications. Moreover, the presented method is purely software-based and can be implemented using a variable speed drive. The operation of the method was verified with simulations and a laboratory test setup and compared with proportional pressure control.