Understanding Sustained Efficiency In Non-Clog Pumps

Sustained efficiency is a pump’s ability to maintain its initial efficiency over time, when operating in the intended application. Increased environmental awareness and legislative pressure to lower energy usage, coupled with the always-present desire to find ways of lowering operational costs, have driven the wastewater pump industry to better examine true operational efficiencies. Unfortunately, pump efficiency in wastewater is not always what it appears, nor what has been stated in the pump manufacturer’s documentation.

Engineers of Flygt pumps have found during site visits that operators are often unaware of the actual efficiency they are getting from their equipment. Sustained efficiency is expected, but often not delivered. Controlled laboratory tests and extensive measurements in the field have shown that with traditional non-clog pumps, end users’ actual efficiency is typically 20 to 30% lower than the published efficiency in on-off pump operation, and often worse for pumps with long duty cycles or in continuous-duty operation.