Armstrong has introduced a new capability that will lead the industry to a “higher plane” of excellence in equipment selection for mechanical systems. For many years, our selection and project management tool, ADEPT, has provided simple, intuitive and accurate selection capabilities for a range of components. But the work of calculating and comparing options for the number and size of pumps that will provide optimal performance and efficiency has always been the responsibility of the user.

With the introduction of the new Integrated Designer capabilities, users can input the flow and head requirements for a pumping station. ADEPT will consider all possible options, calculate the performance and efficiencies for each one, and present the results in tabular format for easy comparison and selection.

Think of it this way. If you needed to choose the best combination of numbers for a total of 24, what would you choose?

1 x 24,

2 x 12,

3 x 8, or

4 x 6?

This is a game changing tool which uses system performance mapping based on site location, application load profile, it calculates energy consumption based on annual run hours and electricity rates assuming quadratic pressure control with best efficiency staging. The tool will generate multiple iterations based on total system flow & head and will list only the options that meet the stated requirements for flow redundancy and turndown.

Calculating and comparing the efficiencies manually isn’t impossible. But the work can be automated and made more accurate, using detailed databases of pump performance.

Users can now select a pump array that offers excellent performance as well as the protection of redundancy and the lowest possible first costs.

No other industry selection software offers quite the same capabilities. As Armstrong continues to develop performance maps across a wide range of component types, this ability for design and selection decisions across multiple components will be expanded to other aspects of the offering, as well as partner solutions.

Here is a real example from a commercial heat pump application. This scenario has a required flow turndown of 8:1 and flow redundancy of 85% per the ASHRAE recommendation for high-comfort applications.

• Total System Flow: 2000
• System Head: 74 feet
• System Flow Turn Down Ratio: 8:1
• Minimum Flow Redundancy: 85

In this case, the best solution is two Tango pumps. Compared to the traditional duty standby solution this provides a 37% reduction in installed cost, a 50% reduction in energy use, and a 70% reduction in embodied carbon. This configuration also provides excellent redundancy at 92% and a better turn down ratio. Comparing to traditional 2+1 solution you see reduction in installed power, significant installed cost reduction and much greater flow turndown meaning better efficiency at part load with optimized solution.

The key point is that without the automated, data-driven approach, accurate comparisons of pump configurations would be challenging and time-consuming to generate. The new Integrated Designer feature within our ADEPT selection system provides this detail in just a few seconds.

• Meets turndown and redundancy requirement
• No need to use rules of thumb
• Automates design iterations for lowest lifecycle cost and lowest embodied carbon
• Multiple iterations available at a click
• Reduce design time & risk, and required system expertise

If you have questions on how to the size and type of pump for your mechanical systems, or if you have questions about how you can optimize building lifecycle performance, please reach out via e-mail to info@armstrongfluidtechnology.com

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