City of St. Albert Servus Credit Union Place – Pool Pump VFDs

OVERVIEW

As part of the Action Centre’s Recreation Energy Conservation Program, the City of St. Albert added variable frequency drives (VFDs) on their Servus Credit Union Place pool pumps. The retrofit involved installing VFDs on four filtration, two on the lazy river, and two on waterslide pumps. The eight VFDs are expected to reduce the facility’s annual electrical energy consumption by over five percent.

The project was commissioned in October 2021.

APPROACH

Instead of running the pump motors at a constant speed, VFDs allow motor speed to be adjusted according to the output requirements. As a result, VFDs help reduce electricity consumption and maintenance costs and will even extend motor lifespan.    

Additional benefits of VFDs include:

• Reduced current draw during motor start-up, which can reduce demand charges.
• Reduced wear and tear on motors and couplings due to inherent soft-starting.
• Soft-starting also reduces water hammer, pipe stress, valve, and pump seal wear.
• Adjustable speed can also help prevent cavitation.

RESULTS

The installation of VFDs resulted in a reduction of 243 tCO₂/year and an energy cost savings of $41,432.59/year. The project resulted in a 55% GHG reduction from the existing system and a 4% reduction facility-wide compared to the baseline.

“Environmental stewardship and efficient energy use are priorities for the City and part of the new long-range Municipal Development Plan. These projects demonstrate the action being taken to conserve energy and are big steps forward for our plan.”

-City of St. Albert Mayor, Cathy Heron

“With these projects, the City of St. Albert demonstrates their commitment to reducing energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs. These are great examples of how thinking differently about existing assets can lead to real savings.”

-Trina Innes, Executive Director of Sustainability Services with the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association