Pump station monitoring system and method

1. A system comprising:

a level sensor configured to be installed in a reservoir for holding a liquid, wherein the level sensor is configured to monitor a liquid level in the reservoir and to generate level data based on the monitored liquid level;

a power monitor configured to monitor power consumed by a pump associated with the reservoir and to generate power data based on the monitored power consumption;

a volume monitor configured to monitor a volume of liquid pumped by the pump and generate volume data based no the monitored volume;

a pressure sensor configured to measure a discharge pressure of the pump and generate discharge pressure data based on the measured discharge pressure, and

a controller configured to:

receive the power data, the volume data, the discharge pressure data and the level data;

process the discharge pressure data to determine a discharge head of the pump;

process the level data to determine a static head of the pump;

process the discharge head and the static head to determine a total dynamic head of the pump; and

process the total dynamic head, the volume data and the power data to determine a normalised efficiency.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:

process the discharge pressure data to determine an equivalent head, the equivalent head representative of friction encountered by the liquid as it is moved by the pump; and

process the equivalent head of the pump to determine the discharge head of the pump.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to:

receive vertical displacement data, representative of a vertical displacement between the pressure sensor and the pump; and

process the vertical displacement data and the equivalent head of the pump to determine the discharge head of the pump.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to:

receive specific gravity data, representative of the specific gravity of the liquid being pumped; and

process the discharge pressure data and the specific gravity data to determine the equivalent head.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

process the volume data and the power data to determine an individual pump efficiency of the pump, the individual pump efficiency representing an amount of electrical energy required to pump a fixed volume of water.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pump is arranged to pump liquid out of the reservoir to a system inlet outlet or into the reservoir from a system.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the pump is arranged to operate over a pumping cycle, the pumping cycle corresponding to a period between a level of the liquid in the reservoir reaching a set point at which the pump turns on, and a set point at which the pump turns off, wherein the controller is configured to:

receive power data, volume data, discharge pressure data and level date measured at a first time in the pumping cycle, wherein:

the power data measured at the first time in the pumping cycle corresponds to the total power consumed between a start of the pumping cycle and the first time;

the volume data measured at the first time in the pumping cycle corresponds to the total volume pumped between the start of the pumping cycle and the first time; and

the discharge pressure data and level data measured at the first time in the pumping cycle correspond to the discharge pressure and level measured at the first time; and

determine a normalised efficiency at the first time.

8. The system of claim 6 , comprising a first pump and a second pump, wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine a normalised efficiency based on power consumed by the first pump and the second pump, a volume of liquid pumped by the first pump and the second pump, and the total dynamic head.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the power monitor is arranged to monitor a total power consumed by the first pump and the second pump together, and the volume monitor is arranged to monitor a total volume of liquid pumped by the first pump and the second pump together.

10. The system of claim 8 , comprising:

a first power monitor configured to monitor the power consumed by the first pump;

a first volume monitor configured to monitor the volume of liquid pumped by the first pump;

a second power monitor configured to monitor the power consumed by the second pump; and

a second volume monitor configured to monitor the volume of liquid pumped by the second pump;

wherein the controller is configured to:

determine a pump efficiency of the first pump and a pump efficiency of the second pump; and

process the pump efficiency of the first pump and the second pump to determine the normalised efficiency.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the volume monitor is configured to receive level data from the level sensor, and determine the volume of liquid pumped based on a change in the level data.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the volume monitor comprises a flow monitor configured to be installed in the reservoir.

13. The System of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:

determine a normalised efficiency for each of a plurality of reservoirs, each reservoir having one or more pumps operating therein;

process the normalised efficiency for each reservoir; and

determine a maintenance schedule based on the normalised efficiencies, the maintenance schedule indicating the reservoir where the pumps are most in need of maintenance.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises processing circuitry arranged to be located in a region of the pump, or located at a separate location or distributed between the pump and the separate location.

15. A method comprising the steps of:

receiving static head data representative of a static head of a reservoir for holding a liquid, the reservoir including a pump arranged to pump the liquid out of the reservoir to a system outlet or into the reservoir from a system inlet;

receiving equivalent head data representative of the resistance encountered when pumping the liquid from the reservoir to the system outlet or from the system inlet to the reservoir;

monitoring power consumed by the pump and generating power data based on the monitored power;

monitoring a volume of liquid pumped by the pump and generating volume data based on the monitored volume;

processing the static head data and the equivalent head data to determine a total dynamic head of the pump; and

processing the total dynamic head, the volume data and the power data to determine a normalised efficiency.

16. The method of claim 15 , comprising:

measuring a discharge pressure of the pump between the reservoir and the system outlet or between the system inlet and the reservoir;

generating the equivalent head data based on the measured discharge pressure;

processing the equivalent head data to determine a discharge head of the pump; and

processing the discharge head and the static head to determine the total dynamic head.

17. The method of claim 16 , comprising:

detecting a level of the liquid in the reservoir and generating level data based on the detected level; and

processing the level data to determine the static head data.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the pump operates over a pumping cycle, the pumping cycle corresponding to a period between the level of the liquid in the reservoir reaching a set point at which the pump turns on, and a set point at which the pump turns off, the method further comprising:

measuring power data, volume data, discharge pressure data and level data at to a first time in the pumping cycle, wherein:

the power data measured at the first time in the pumping cycle corresponds to the total power consumed between a start of the pumping cycle and the first time;

the volume data measured at the first time in the pumping cycle corresponds to the total volume pumped between the start of the pumping cycle and the first time; and

the discharge pressure data and level data measured at the first time in the pumping cycle correspond to the discharge pressure and level measured at the first time; and

determining a normalised efficiency for the first time.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the pump operates over a pumping cycle, the pumping cycle corresponding to a period between a level of the liquid in the reservoir reaching a set point at which the pump turns on, and a set point at which the pump turns off, wherein:

the equivalent head data and static head data are representative of the equivalent head and static head at a time at which the pump turns off;

the volume data is representative of the volume pumped over the whole pumping cycle; and

the power data is representative of the power consumed over the whole pumping cycle.

20. A non-transitory machine readable medium containing instructions which when executed by a processing apparatus cause that processing apparatus to perform the method of claim 15 .