Power management company Eaton last month announced that the company’s custom variable-frequency drive (VFD) solution was recently installed at the Mooresville water treatment plant, in North Carolina, in the US. The VFD fits into the plant’s space constraints and has been keeping its 600 kW pumps moving efficiently.

To avoid redundancy between the town’s new and old plants while maintaining the usability of its pump investment, the public water utility looked to Eaton to get the pumps up and running without affecting the operation or the efficiency of the old plant.

The new SC9000 EP medium-voltage adjustable-frequency drive was designed to meet the utility’s needs, helping to increase the energy efficiency of the plant, with a noticeable reduction in power use. The reliable SC9000 EP series of drives controls the pressure from the pumps, allowing the new and the old plants to work in tandem, while preventing the new pumps from rusting away as a result of disuse.

“Eaton and Mooresville worked together to deliver a VFD system that controlled the water flow and made it possible to use both the new and the old water treatment plants,” said Mooresville public utilities director Barry McKinnon. “The ability to operate both plants at the same time brings the assurance to customers . . . that, if one pump or plant goes down, there is a backup plan in place that will keep the water flowing.”

Featuring an encapsulated power pole and modular inverter design, the drives also help reduce downtime during routine maintenance. In addition, the encapsulated power pole inverter with heat pipe technology reduces overall equip-ment size and helps protect sensitive electronic components in the harsh plant environment.

“By designing a compact integrated control gear solution, we were able to keep the VFD in one room with no modifications and tied it back to the plant’s existing communications system,” said Eaton project engineer Jerry Wang. “Building on existing infrastructure to meet capacity and redundancy needs, the Eaton team provided a system that helps ensure reliable water treatment services for Mooresville’s customers.”

Eaton’s electrical business is a global leader with expertise in power distribution and circuit protection, backup power protection, control and automation, lighting and security, structural solutions and wiring devices, solu- tions for harsh and hazardous environments, and engineering services.