Centrifugal pumps perform many important functions to control the built environment. The physics and basic mechanics of pumps have not changed substantially in the last century. However, the state of the art in the application of pumps has improved dramatically in recent years. Even so, pumps are still often not well applied, and become common targets in retrocommissioning projects where field assessment and testing can reveal significant energy savings potential from optimizing pump performance.Typically, retrocommissioning finds that pump flow rates do not match their design intent and that reducing flow rates to match load requirements or eliminating unnecessary pressure drops can save energy. As the example below illustrates, decisions made during the design phase have implications throughout the operating life of the building.

The first edition of this design brief was prepared for Energy Design Resources in 2007. Between January and April of 2010, an engineering review of this document was conducted to update passages affected by recent changes in the California Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24 2008). The original content creator was not actively involved in this engineering review, and therefore is not responsible for the updates to the affected passages.