Recent news that EU member states have approved a plan to ban low and standard efficiency circulating pumps from 2013 has been warmly welcomed by Wilo here in the UK. The plan also states that from 2015, only very high efficiency ‘intelligent’ circulators will be allowed.

 

Wilo has been promoting its high efficiency, intelligent pumps for several years, making significant efforts to educate the industry and end users about the large amounts of electricity low and standard efficiency pumps can use.

 

Throughout its history, the Wilo group has been at the forefront of developing energy saving products through increased hydraulic efficiency, electronics and innovative motor design. These advances in product development have lead to the latest ranges of Wilo pumps qualifying for the top band ‘A’ energy rating.

 

In real terms the latest range of Wilo pumps are up to 80% more efficient than a standard fixed speed pump.  With high energy costs this can represent a huge saving on energy bills. Despite the publicity, there is not a huge awareness of the amount of energy pumps can use. In the same way that in simple terms the value of heating controls in a home is to turn off or turn down the heat and energy use when it’s not needed, it’s clear that if you can install pumps that only operate and consume energy when they are needed, rather than ones that operate all the time, you can make a huge saving on your energy bills.

 

There are massive numbers of elderly, energy guzzling, uncontrolled domestic pumps and circulators operating on heating systems across the UK – using far more electricity than is really necessary in this day and age. The average heating pump in the UK is one of the highest consumers of electricity in the home along with the main culprits – dishwashers, tumble dryers, washing machines and perhaps surprisingly stand-by losses.

 

Wilo developed the first ever ‘A’ rated pump and has gone on to develop its EC (electronic commutated) motor technology and permanent magnet rotors, and these have been incorporated into its Stratos-Eco pump series which offers in the region of 80% energy consumption reduction over standard uncontrolled pumps.

The new Wilo Eco-Stratos uses just 6W of input – amazingly that’s less than a TV or DVD standby mechanism, that uses around 8W.

Wilo (UK) Residential Sales Manager David Spragg says there is now a very real choice in domestic pumping solutions in the UK: “Wilo pumps are increasingly popular here in the UK both with boiler manufacturers and with installers and specifiers who are seeing the high technology, energy saving pumps we manufacture as ideal for their everyday use - and their ease of installation as a very real bonus.”