Study on the efficiency and energy consumption of electric and diesel pumping stations

Restricted water and energy resources of the planet, as well as an increasing demand for water and energy owing to population growth and an ever-increasing development of human societies, require an optimal utilisation of such resources. This study was conducted to investigate the consumption, dissipation and efficiency of energy in electric and diesel fuel pumping stations in the fields of Hamedan city, located in the west of Iran. The Nebraska pumping plant performance criteria were used to compare the performance of irrigation pumping stations. The input power, output power and total energy efficiency were calculated for the pumping stations. The results revealed that the total efficiency ranged between 3.2 and 24.4% in the diesel pumping stations and from 15.7 to 100% in the electric pumping stations. The mean of total efficiency and mean wasted energy in the diesel pumping stations were 14.1% and 51.8 kWh/h, respectively. The mean total efficiency and wasted energy in the electric pumping stations were 58.3% and 9.0 kWh/h, respectively. Factors such as pump and engine selection proportionate to the system's capacity and pressure, proper upkeep and maintenance of pumps and engines, and implementation of an optimum, rigid foundation could improve energy efficiency.