Better pumping promises big benefits

Tougher standards for water and sewer drainage aimed at increasing efficiency, protecting the environment and saving energy in China's urbanization will provide new opportunities for pump manufacturers, experts say.

The State Council announced the new standards on Oct 16.

"If all industries would adopt high-efficiency pump systems, global power consumption would be cut by 4 percent, equal to a whole year of electricity for 1 billion people," said Kim Nohr Skibsted, vice president of Grundfos Group, the world's largest pump manufacturer by volume.

The company is exploring the Chinese market and was touting its latest solutions at the China International Green Innovation Products & Technologies Show held in Guangzhou on Saturday.

China's urban drainage picture has improved over the last two decades, but the efficiency of pumps in rural areas remains below 40 percent, Li Shenghai, director of the water technology research center at the Chinese Society for Urban Studies, said at the show.

Efficiency of industrial pumps is around 75 percent. So there is room for improvement, Li said.

He said more than 100 million yuan ($16.38 million) can be saved annually through smarter pumping.

Skibsted said there is no need to keep pumps working at their highest speed all the time, and doing so only wastes energy. At industrial sites and in commercial buildings and public places, pumps need only run at top speed 5 percent of the time, he said.