Latest developments in pumps technology

From pressure boosting shower pumps to wastewater transporting sewage pumps, pumps play a pivotal role in the domestic sphere, in industry and in water utility. And to keep their customers happy, pumps manufacturers are constantly pushing the boundaries of what their products are capable of. A minute improvement in efficiency can save end users a fortune in heating and water bills. To give you an idea of the direction the pumps industry is heading in, and the problems that are preoccupying product designers today, we have put together this revealing insight into the latest technology in pumps.

Usability

An increasingly common preoccupation of product designers is finding a way to make their products as usable as possible. For many manufacturers, that means making sure their newest products can be monitored from afar. Grundfos for example, a German giant of pumps manufacturing, this month updated its popular class of Magna Model C circulating pumps. Foremost amongst the changes: a digital start/stop input that allows the pump to be monitored remotely. Thanks to this innovation, the uninterrupted functioning of the heating, air-conditioning, cooling and hot water circulation units is secured. Remote monitoring also allows for more effective building management.

Efficiency

Efficiency is a perennial goal for product designers and engineers in the world of pumps. As I mentioned in the intro, even marginal gains in efficiency can mean a great deal to the end user. A more efficient product can reduce the amount of energy your building expends, and consequently, reduce the amount of money required to heat it. The collective size and number of HVAC units required to service an entire building makes these marginal unit-by-unit savings quite substantial and can be worth an awful lot of money to a business.

Noise

Another obsession of pumps manufacturers is the amount of noise their products create. Historically, shower pumps have been noisy, and manufacturers have constantly chipped away at this flaw. For some time, the noise created by a shower pump was an unwelcome by-product of having a fully functioning shower. Today though, manufacturers have all but managed to correct this issue. The award of the Quiet Mark award, an affirmation Salamander pumps have received, speaks volumes to the progress pumps manufacturers have made in this regard. Three ranges of Salamander shower pump  – CT Force, CT Xtra and Right Pumps – carry Quiet Mark accreditation.

Efficiency, usability and noise are just three of many priorities for pumps manufacturers. At the moment though, they are the three factors shaping the direction of pump production. Expect to see further growth in these areas over the next few years, and many more besides. Pumps are needed for a variety of industries to function properly – from the wastewater industry to agriculture to water utilities – and without them continuing to develop and progress, these industries will falter too.