Pumps and Fans

Why be energy efficient?

Pumps and fans are used widely throughout industry. Together, they account for around 40% of the end uses of motive power in Australian industry.¹

Potential energy savings in pump and fan systems can be as much as 50% and in some cases even higher.

For information on types of pump and fan systems, see Technology Background – Pumps and Fans.

Opportunities

Most energy efficiency opportunities for pumps and fans fall into the following categories:

Reduce demand for pumps and fans
Large savings can be achieved by reducing the demand for the service provided by the pump or fan by optimising the...
Optimise existing pump and fan systems
There are many opportunities to reduce the energy consumption of existing fan and pump systems without requiring a significant investment....
Install optimum new pump and fan systems
Investing in new efficient pump and fan systems provides the opportunity to achieve large energy savings and to minimise total...

See all opportunities in Pumps and Fans

Case studies

Murray Goulburn Co-operative Koroit Plant 2010 (Opens in a new window)
- Sustainability Victoria
- PDF 219 KB
- Website
Murray Goulburn reduced pump system running costs by 42% for one of their separator banks, with a 3.2 year payback period on the dollars invested. This also reduced piping system component wear by reducing friction losses throughout the system.
Energy Efficiency Guide for Industry in Asia 2006
- United Nations Environment Programme
This is the case study section of the Energy Efficiency Guide for Industry in Asia website. It provides a number of case studies for fans and blowers. The guide is for Asian companies and their stakeholders who want to improve their energy efficiency.

Key resources

Motor Solutions Online 2010
- Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
This website contains practical information and tools to help companies manage their motor systems. It covers a range of areas including:
- System optimisation information
- Optimising pump and fan applications
- Pump and fan characteristics
- Control options
- Fine-tuning pump and fan applications
- Control technologies
- Selecting the right equipment
- Pump and fan or blower applications.
Note that the Australian Government is working to update the content. Principles outlined on the site however are still applicable when developing motor management strategies.
Energy Efficiency Best Practice Guide: Pumping Systems 2009 (Opens in a new window)
- Sustainability Victoria
- PDF 1.5 MB
- Website
This resource provides a step-by-step guide to improving energy efficiency in pumps and fans. It includes best practice information, opportunities to improve the performance of existing systems, ideas for designing new systems and summaries of key business benefits.
AC Variable Speed Drives – Factsheet 2006
- Resource Smart Business
This fact sheet on the Resource Smart Business website outlines the advantages to using variable speed drives (VSDs), as well as the different types of VSDs and their applications.
Improving Fan System Performance – A Sourcebook for Industry 2003 (Opens in a new window)
- US Department of Energy
- PDF 1.2 MB
This guide is not intended to be a comprehensive technical text on improving fan systems, but rather a document that makes users aware of potential performance improvements. It covers a range of topics including fan types, maintenance, indications of oversized fans, system leaks, controlling fans with variable speed drives and fan-system economics.
Improving Pumping System Performance – A Sourcebook for Industry 2006 (Opens in a new window)
- US Department of Energy
- PDF 3.1 MB
This guide provides some practical guidelines and covers a range of topics including common pumping system problems, indications of oversized pumps, piping configurations, maintenance, centrifugal pumps, positive displacement pump applications, pony pumps, impeller trimming and variable speed drives.