|
ACL can help to cut energy costs and avoid
expensive downtime or lost production with accurate evaluation
and monitoring of the demand on a compressed air system and the
way the compressors are programmed to meet it. The EU 'SAVE II'
study found, most compressor systems have a 30% energy savings
potential.
 |
Compressed air installations usually
have two, three or even four machines operating
independently or as a controlled programmable system.
When installed, the compressors will have been
configured to provide the greatest efficiency under the
conditions prevailing at the time. However, the original
configuration may well not provide the greatest
efficiency when capacities, production requirements and
shift patterns have changed.
Compressors are at their most
efficient at 100% full load, when producing compressed
air constantly. A compressor running off-load (running
but not producing air) still requires power, but at a
much reduced level. As eliminating off-load running
altogether is unlikely to be possible, off-load running
efficiencies are important when considering running
costs. |
Experienced compressor system designers seek to meet peak
demand by running one compressor as close to 100% as possible. A
second unit is then controlled automatically to operate only
when the compressed air demand exceeds the capacity of the first
machine. The standby compressor could be one of several machines
installed to support the main compressor. Additional machines
are usually selected so that together, and for predetermined
periods of low demand, they can meet any likely air requirement
without the main compressor. This can protect a business from
costly downtime and allows for routine maintenance.
An increase in a business's power consumption may be
attributable to the compressor installation. Not checking the
compressor programming when power costs rise could prove to be
an expensive mistake. Even an expert in compressed air will have
difficulty in identifying problem areas in the new circumstances
unless they can rely on accurate and detailed information of the
air requirements.
An answer to this problem is available from ACL.
With AirScan™, an electronic data logger is installed
for a 7-day period to monitor and record the operating
status and requirements of any compressor installation.
The data logger can be installed quickly, without
disruption, and will collect data at one second
intervals, 24 hours a day.
The information logged is then downloaded to a PC and
processed to provide a figure for all key parameters.
From these figures, compressed air flow and power
consumption graphs are produced which show the workload
patterns and how the compressor installation reacts to
them. |
 |
| A solution on how best to optimise the
compressed air system can then be discussed. |
|
Download
PDF
