Contributor: Danfoss

According to World Economic Forum 2017, a water crisis is evaluated as one of the highest risks to the world and with the largest impact. As populations grow, pressures mount and finding a more sustainable relationship between water and energy supplies become critical in less than two decades. Today, close to one third of the world’s population is estimated to live in water stressed and scarcity areas and by 2040, almost 20 % of all countries are anticipated to experience extremely high water stress. Yet, water and energy loss in the water sector are extremely high. In fact, the average amount of water wasted by waterworks is 40 % worldwide and 26 % in Europe – due to errors, leakages, and water pressure. At the same time, 4 % of global electricity is consumed by the water industry – a figure that is expected to double by 2040 – and water accounts for up to half of a municipality’s total energy bill.

Pressure control is key to reduce water and energy loss

Danfoss pressure sensors and variable speed drives are a key component for reducing water and energy loss throughout the whole water cycle.

Experiences from 112 systems in 10 different countries show that better pressure control reduces non-revenue water and unnecessary energy consumption significantly.

In average, improved pressure management leads to 38 % reduction in pressure and 53 % less new breaks. Among other benefits, the energy consumption is reduced by 20-40 % and the typical water leakage reduction is 38 %. Moreover, the improvements result in extended asset lifetime and fewer network related complaints.

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