Optimization software for reliable water supply and energy cost savings in water networks

The software is an application designed to enable water utilities to operate their plants more efficiently.

By feeding in basic information with the software, it should be possible to guarantee optimum operation of the plant components within a selected supply area.

The software provides pump schedules for a defined forecast period and thus provides suggestions for a cost-minimized operating mode.

An optimization should be flexibly aligned to energy-cost savings and/or material preserve of the components.

The software contains an engineering tool with a component library in which e.g. pumps, valves, tanks for modeling a water network are stored. Different network models can be saved and reloaded as needed. The memory format corresponds to the required format of the calculation modules. The modelled network should also be able to be displayed in a zoomable map view (e.g. with map material from Open Street Map).

It should be possible to integrate current measured process values or operating states into an existing model or scenario and to take them into account in the evaluations.

It should also be possible to integrate prognosis values (variable in time) for a foresight period into an existing model or scenario and take them into account in the evaluations.

This refers to minimum and maximum filling levels, minimum, maximum or fixed flow rates, availability of pumps and valves as well as energy tariffs and performance limits of the energy suppliers.

The optimization software is intended to enable manual optimization on user request and continuously automatic optimization in defined cycles.

It should be possible to include current measured process values, operating states, forecasts and specifications in the optimization in the manual as well as in the auto mode.

The last results of an optimization are incorporated into a live schedule, which continuously displays the currently required switching operations, is continuously updated and can be exported on request.

After a successful optimization (or by loading previously calculated scenarios including results), the results are displayed as follows:

o Overview (KPI) of energy costs, switching costs and supply reliability with optimized operation

o Optimized pump and valve schedules (optionally with flows and electrical power)

o Curves of the filling levels of the containers with optimized operation

o Electrical power consumption curve with optimized operation

For the network models created in Engineering Mode, scenarios (i.e. network models plus observation periods, initial states and temporally variable loads and boundary conditions) as well as individual time series are stored in a defined xml structure and should be uploadable into an app.

The interface for updating system states in the model (e.g. tank levels, operating states of pumps) and for transferring calculated switching instructions to the control system should be based on OPC UA. Via a csv file interface it should be possible to read in time series and to export the results from a cyclic optimization.

The software should be usable on mobile devices, computers and servers with Windows operating system. The application should be HTML based and readable in standardized web browsers.

The use of the software is protected by user and password input. Furthermore a user administration is necessary, with which different rights for users and their roles can be defined.