Pump and fan systems consume a large portion of the total energy on a global scale. Variable speed drives are amongst the most efficient solutions to reduce energy consumption in fluid handling systems. More efficient system can also be achieved by detecting and reacting to efficiency reducing adverse phenomena present in the system. This can be done with system monitoring. Traditional process monitoring is done by having sensors installed to measure desired variables. While sensors provide valuable information they can be replaced by having model-based estimates rather than actual physical measurements. Modern variable speed drives are capable of providing accurate estimates of variables such as power, torque and rotational speed. With these estimates a sensorless system monitoring can be realized to detect harmful phenomena. Remote monitoring can be implemented by having an access to the monitored data with either a direct connection to the variable speed drive or an access to a data logger connected to the drive. Alternatively the logger could forward the collected data to a server which is utilized by a monitoring software. In this thesis sensorless methods to detect deleterious phenomena in fluid handling systems are presented. The studied phenomena are introduced, as well as their causes and effects on energy efficiency and life-cycle costs. Remote monitoring of a pump and a fan system are implemented in a laboratory environment to test applicability of the presented sensorless detection methods. A pilot experiment is included in which occurrence of cavitation is remotely monitored with sensorless detection methods.
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