Implementing smart environment to research pump energy usage and motor and power quality analytics in partnership with UMass Water and Energy Technology Center

Load Controls, Incorporated announce that they have implemented a state-of-the-art pumping research environment at their Sturbridge, MA headquarters. As part of a commitment to extend their leadership in motor and pump power sensing, Load Controls is teaming up with the UMassWater and Energy Technology Center to research the roles of energy, power, and motor quality in industrial pumping. This research center will augment an ongoing project the two teams have implemented to monitor and track energy usage of the pumps and wastewater treatment mixers deployed at the WET center and Town of Amherst Wastewater Treatment facility.

The pumping environment includes dedicated research personnel as well as the installation of a fully instrumented pumping system that includes sensors to monitor motor power, pressure, flow and vibration, as well as gateways to send power, quality metrics, local and cloud-based software for analysis.

“Our customers consider us the subject experts in the intersection of industrial pumping and motor power. This research environment will allow us to develop new insights into pumping efficiency, motor and pump failure prediction and power quality analysis,” said Mike McClurg, President of Load Controls. “The UMass team helped us build an environment that captures all the variables we’ll need to research this important topic. We’re excited about the insights and new products that will come from the installation.”

About Load Controls, Inc.

Load Controls was incorporated in 1984 with the vision of providing motor power sensors to the process manufacturing world. That remains our focus, with a full product portfolio, thousands of happy customers, and hundreds of thousands of controls installed to mark our progress. Our sensors and controls are in use by 9 of the 10 world’s largest chemical processing firms, 9 of the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies globally and 7 of the 10 largest global paper and pulp processing manufacturers. All products are manufactured in our ISO9001:2015 certified Sturbridge Massachusetts headquarters.

About the UMass Water and Energy Technology Center

The UMass Water and Energy Technology Center is a multi-purpose resource that is available for use by UMass and non-UMass researchers. It is located on the western edge of the Amherst campus, immediately adjacent to the Town of Amherst’s wastewater treatment plant. It includes the UMass Water and Wastewater Pilot Plant, and the Mill River Monitoring Facility, and it is the home of the UMass Mobile Water Innovation Laboratory.

The UMass WET facility has grown out of the Wastewater pilot plant which was originally developed in 1970 through a grant from the MA Division of Water Pollution Control and the MADEQE (predecessors to MA DEP). It was originally intended for research and development in support of the nation’s new mandates for water pollution control. Until 2016, it was used exclusively by UMass researchers. In 2016, the facility was extensively refurbished and re-launched as a resource that can accommodate outside researchers, including those from academia and industry.