OPTIMIZACIÓN ENERGÉTICA DE REDES RAMIFICADAS DE AGUA. APLICACIÓN A UNA INFRAESTRUCTURA HIDRÁULICA EN LA PROVINCIA DE CUENCA.

Abstract

Energy dependence of water networks for their exploitation makes its variable costs come to overshadow the construction costs or fixed costs in the long term. The aim of this paper is to analyze alternatives to minimize operating costs in existing simple branched networks and study the application of sectorization combined with variable speed drives as a means of improving energy efficiency. It is suggested a criterion to determine under what circumstances it is favorable to apply sectorization and the criterion is applied to a real case study which is located in Cuenca. The results show significant energy savings, which in combination with electrical charging means a reduction in the economic costs of pumping.