❚ EUROPEAN GUIDE TO PUMP EFFICIENCY FOR SINGLE STAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

Purpose of the Guide Pump types and duties

T
his guide is for anyone wishing to This Guide should only be used for single stage
buy or select pumps and save centrifugal pumps handling clean water at up
to 95°C. Pump types covered are:
money. The aim is to help you choose a
❚ End suction pumps having their own
pump of good efficiency. This will bearings.
reduce your energy costs. In some cases
❚ End suction close coupled pumps, with the
the saving from just one additional impeller on the motor shaft.
point of efficiency can pay for your ❚ Double entry pumps having an axially split
pump. We hope this Guide will also casing.

reduce the energy used across the EU, The applicable ranges of flow and head are
shown on Figs 1 and 2 for pumps running at
benefiting everyone through a better nominally 2900 and 1450 rpm.
environment.

Figure 1: 1000
Range coverage at ESCC End Suction Close Coupled
best-efficiency
duties at 2900 rpm. ESOB End Suction Own Bearings

DESC Double Entry Split Casing

Head (m)

200 kW
96 kW
100 ESOB

DESC
23 kW

ESCC

1.4 kW 2.5 kW

10
10 100 1000 10000
3
Flow (m /h)

Figure 2: 1000
Range coverage at ESCC End Suction Close Coupled
best-efficiency
duties at 1450 rpm. ESOB End Suction Own Bearings

DESC Double Entry Split Casing

Head (m)

680 kW
100
DESC
20 kW
67 kW

ESCC
ESOB
7.4 kW

10 1.2 kW
10 100 1000 10000
Flow (m3/h)
2
 EUROPEAN GUIDE TO PUMP EFFICIENCY FOR SINGLE STAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS ❚

Method used for ❚ Optimum efficiency selections: high

efficiency pumps operating at or close to
producing the the best efficiency point
efficiency plots ❚ Efficient selections: pumps which
probably have a reasonable best efficiency
Performance curves published in
but, because of standard pump ranges,
manufacturers’ catalogues have been used to
may have been quoted away from BEP
produce six plots (Figs 3 to 8). The upper
(Best Efficiency Point)
pump efficiency line on each plot shows the
‘Catalogue mean of best-efficiency points’ at ❚ Lower efficiency selections: selection in
maximum impeller diameter, after correcting this area should only be accepted if other
for pump head. parameters override (such as very low
NPSH, pump operating with short run
The lower line is an average of efficiencies for
times, spares inventory minimisation)
pumps typically selected for flows across the
range, which are not always operating at best
efficiency point or maximum impeller diameter
(Ref 1).

The two lines divide the plot into three areas:

85 50 Figure 3:
Efficiencies of end
80 Optimum efficiency selections 45 suction pumps with
their own bearings
75 Efficient selections 40 at 2900 rpm.
Pump efficiency + C (%)

Efficiency correction = C
70 35
Lower efficiency selections
65 30

60 25

55 Head 20
130m
110m
50 15
90m

45 70m 10
50m
40m
40 5
30m 20m
20m
35 0
30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200
Pump flow (m3/h)

90 50
Figure 4:
Optimum efficiency selections Efficiencies of end
85 45
suction pumps with
80 40 their own bearings
Efficient selections at 1450 rpm.
Efficiency correction = C
Pump efficiency + C (%)

75 35
Lower efficiency selections
70 30

65 25

60 20
Head
55 50m 15
40m
50 30m 10
15m 10m
20m
45 15m 5
10m
40 0
20 60 100 140 180 220 260 300 340 380
Pump flow (m3/h)
3
 ❚ EUROPEAN GUIDE TO PUMP EFFICIENCY FOR SINGLE STAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

How to use the 8. Plot (quoted pump efficiency + correction

‘C’) at your chosen flow.
efficiency plots:
If the point lies in the ‘Lower efficiency
1. Decide which type of pump you want. selections’ area, seek higher efficiency quotes.

2. Choose the flow and head at which you If the point lies in the ‘Efficient selections’
would like maximum efficiency. area, you have a pump which may well have a
reasonable best efficiency but, because of
3. Get efficiency quotes from manufacturers standard pump ranges, has been quoted away
(or use published information). from BEP. You should therefore seek higher
4. Check that the chosen flow and head are efficiency quotes, to see if you can get a pump
within the ranges of Figs 1 or 2. with the BEP closer to your operating point.

5. Enter your chosen flow and head on the If the point lies in the ‘Optimum efficiency
plot that suits the quotes (Figs 3 to 8). selections’ area, you have been quoted a
pump with high best efficiency and you are
6. Read correction factor ‘C’ on the right-hand operating close to BEP and you are unlikely to
axis. improve on this selection.
7. Add ‘C’ to the efficiency that has been quoted.

Figure 5: 85 60
Efficiencies of end Optimum efficiency selections
80 55
suction close
coupled pumps at 75 Efficient selections 50
2900 rpm.
70 45
Pump efficiency + C (%)

Efficiency correction = C
Lower efficiency selections
65 40

60 35

55 30

50 25
Head
45 130m 20
110m
40 90m 15
20m
70m
35 50m
10
40m
30 30m 5
20m
25 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200
Pump flow (m3/h)

Figure 6: 90 50
Efficiencies of end
85 45
suction close
coupled pumps at Optimum efficiency selections
80 40
1450 rpm.
Pump efficiency + C (%)

Efficiency correction = C

75 35
Efficient selections
70 30
Head Lower efficiency selections
65 50m 25

60 40m 20

30m
55 15
25m

50 20m 10
15m
45 5
10m

40 0
30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
Pump flow (m3/h)
4
 EUROPEAN GUIDE TO PUMP EFFICIENCY FOR SINGLE STAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS ❚

Important note: Although a quoted low efficiency
may be due to poor pump quality, it is more likely
to be due to your chosen duty not coinciding with
that pump’s best-efficiency point. Your flow may be
below or above the optimum for that pump. Your
head will probably require a reduced diameter
impeller. A survey has suggested that you are
unlikely to receive more than one quote in five in
the ‘Optimum efficiency selections’ area.

Worked example:
Chosen pump type: End suction with own bearings.
Chosen duty for maximum efficiency: 80 m3/h at 110 m.
Quoted pump performance: 60% efficiency at 2900 rpm.
(Check materials, suction performance, etc,
are satisfactory)
Is chosen duty within ranges covered: From Fig 1, yes.
From Fig 3: ‘C’ = 14.
Plot on Fig 3: ‘Pump Efficiency + C’ = 60 + 14 = 74%.
Fig 3 suggests that an additional 3 points of efficiency
or more is possible.
Action: Seek further quotes.

90 50 Figure 7:
Efficiencies of
85 Optimum efficiency selections 45 double entry axially
split casing pumps
80 Efficient selections 40 at 2900 rpm.
Pump efficiency + C (%)

Efficiency correction = C
75 35
Lower efficiency selections
70 30

65 25

60 20
Head
55 15
150m
130m
50 10
110m
90m
45 70m
5
50m
40 0
130 150 170 190 210 230 250 270 290 310 330 350 370 390
Pump flow (m3/h)

95 50 Figure 8:
Optimum efficiency selections Efficiencies of
90 45 double entry axially
split casing pumps
85 Efficient selections 40
at 1450 rpm.
Pump efficiency + C (%)

Efficiency correction = C

80 35
Lower efficiency selections
75 30

70 Head 25
140m
65 120m 20
80m 100m

60 15m 20m
15
60m 40m 30m
55 50m 10
40m
50 30m 5
20m
45 0
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500
Pump flow (m3/h)
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 ❚ EUROPEAN GUIDE TO PUMP EFFICIENCY FOR SINGLE STAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS
Correction of efficiency
for pump head
Correction ‘C’, as shown on Figs 3 to 8, is
based on pump flow, head and speed. It is
actually a correction for pump Specific Speed.
Pumps of relatively low head and high flow
(high Specific Speed) or high head and low
flow (low Specific Speed) lose efficiency due to
unavoidable secondary hydraulic losses. Within
Ref 2 there is a curve to allow efficiency
correction for Specific Speed. This is actually
the correction proposed by Anderson (Ref 3).
Alternative curves to correct for Specific Speed
can be derived from Ref 4 and Ref 5.
None of these curves appear to provide an
‘optimum’ correction for the published
manufacturers’ data analysed for this Guide.
We have therefore chosen to use an
intermediate Specific Speed correction curve,
which produces the minimum scatter of the
points plotted. There is no strict theoretical
justification for this approach but we believe
that it serves well for the purpose for which
this Guide is intended. (Further information
can be found in Ref 6.)
Loss of pump efficiency
with time
A pump of high efficiency is of little value if the
efficiency falls rapidly with time. You can
minimise this risk. Choose materials carefully,
particularly for wear rings. Avoid high and low
flow operation in relation to your chosen duty.
Ask for cast iron casings to be protectively
coated if the water is known to cause serious
roughening due to corrosion.
Life Cycle Cost (LCC)
It is likely that the design of the pumping
system and the way the pump is operated will
have a greater impact on the energy
consumption than the pump efficiency alone.
You should carry out an LCC analysis to
compare different technical alternatives of
designing, operating and maintaining a
pumping system. The LCC represents the total
expenses to purchase, install, operate, maintain
and repair a pumping system during its
projected life. Down time and environmental
costs are also considered.
6
A well-documented guide has been published
by Hydraulic Institute and Europump (Ref 7).
The guide explains how the operating costs of
a pumping system are influenced by system
design, and shows in detail how to use an LCC
analysis to estimate these costs. Using the
recommendations of the guide, you should
take into account not only the initial
investment cost, but also all the other costs
and expenses of operating the system during
its projected life.
Basic principles of
choosing a pump
The fundamentals of pump selection are
covered in Appendix 3 of Ref 6, together with
notes on the basics of centrifugal pump
characteristics, reducing impeller diameter,
reducing speed, and the effect of wear.
Efficiency plots used in
this Guide compared to
other sources
For practical reasons it has only been possible
to source a limited amount of data to produce
the plots in this Guide. To assess how
meaningful the results are, it is useful to
compare them with other sources. The best
efficiencies (corrected to optimum Specific
Speed) for end suction pumps having their
own bearings at 2900 rpm are plotted in Fig 9.
The mean of these points is marked
Catalogue ‘mean’. Additional curves (all at
optimum Specific Speed) are derived as
follows:
❚ ‘Hydraulic Institute’
Fig 1A (Ref 2).
❚ ‘Anderson’
Fig 7.3 (Ref 3).
❚ ‘Maximum practically attainable’
(EUROPUMP) - Figs 7 to 10 (Ref 4).
❚ ‘Theoretically attainable’
(EUROPUMP) - Using Figs 7 to 10 of Ref 4
(Ref 5).
From Fig 9 we deduce that the Catalogue
‘mean’ curve is suitable for use in this Guide.
The ‘Hydraulic Institute ‘ANSI/API’’ curve
is low, particularly at low flows. This is
probably mainly due to the use of relatively
large wear ring clearances, as required for
pumps in special materials or to meet the
American Petroleum Institute (API) Standard.
 EUROPEAN GUIDE TO PUMP EFFICIENCY FOR SINGLE STAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS ❚

References 5. ‘Theoretically attainable efficiency of

centrifugal pumps’, Stoffel, B. and Lauer, J.,
1. ‘Evaluation of efficiency values considering the Summary of the final report on the research
effect of pump size modularity’, Stoffel, B., project for VDMA, Technical University of
Ludwig, G., and Meschkat, S., Technical Darmstadt, 1994.
University of Darmstadt, 2002. 6. ‘Study on improving the efficiency of pumps’,
2. ‘Efficiency prediction method for centrifugal Report produced for the European
pumps’, Hydraulic Institute, 1994. Commission – SAVE, 2001. Available via
http://energyefficiency.jrc.cec.eu.int/
3. ‘Centrifugal pumps and allied machinery’, motorchallenge
Anderson, H.H., Elsevier Advanced
Technology, 1994. 7. ‘Pump life cycle costs: A guide to LCC
analysis for pumping systems’, Europump
4. ‘Attainable efficiencies of volute casing and Hydraulic Institute, 2000.
pumps’, Europump Guide No. 2, 1999. (ISBN 1-880952-58-0)

95
Figure 9:
Comparison of
Theoretically attainable
efficiencies of end
90
suction pumps from
Pump efficiency at optimum Specific Speed (%)

various sources.
Maximum practically Hydraulic Institute
85 attainable ‘Large Pumps’

80

75

70 Anderson
Catalogue ‘mean’

65

Hydraulic Institute
60 ‘ANSI/API’

55
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200
Pump flow (m3/h)

7
❚ EUROPEAN GUIDE TO PUMP EFFICIENCY FOR SINGLE STAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS

This Guide has For further information

been produced by please contact:
a Project Team
European Commission, JRC
comprising:
Dr Paolo Bertoldi
❚ Future Energy Solutions (UK) DG Joint Research Centre
Project Leader I-21020 Ispra
Varese
❚ CETIM (France) Italy
❚ David T Reeves (UK) Tel. +39 0332 789299
❚ NESA (Denmark) Fax +39 0332 789992
Paolo.bertoldi@cec.eu.int
❚ University of Darmstadt (Germany) http://energyefficiency.jrc.cec.eu.int
❚ EUROPUMP (membership)

The work was funded principally by the EUROPUMP

European Commission with additional EUROPUMP
funding provided by the Project Team. Pump Diamant Building
motor system energy efficiency continues BD A. Reyers 80
through the European Commission through B-1030 Brussels
the Motor Challenge Programme;
more information can be found at Tel. +32 2 7068230
http://energyefficiency.jrc.cec.eu.int/ Fax +32 2 7068250
motorchallenge/index.htm secretariat@europump.org

© European Commission. This edition printed May 2003.