COMPRESSED AIR
E
nergy efficiency is increasingly important for us all as it directly relates to costs. Increasing
regulatory pressure is also on the horizon in the form of the EU Commission’s proposed revision to the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). The revised EED will make the EU’s energy-saving objective legally binding, obliging EU countries to collectively reduce their energy consumption by 9% below 2020 levels by 2030. Additionally, EU countries will likely have to achieve new annual savings of 1.5% of total energy consumption as of 2024, up from the current level of 0.8%. In manufacturing processes using compressed air, energy efficiency improvements are critical since air compressors consume approximately 12% of electrical energy. What’s more, over the lifespan of an air compressor, 80% of the cost is energy use, and 20% is the cost of the unit. But do compressed air users have the big picture of where these costs come from and what contributes to them?
LOOKING BEYOND THE SYSTEM There are many technical and economical choices when taking the right approach to reducing the energy intensity of compressed air systems. Not so long ago, the industry focus rightly looked beyond the unit efficiency to the system and system efficiency. Greater awareness of operational needs and the increased pressure to reduce energy use and improve efficiency prompt a closer examination of the system. More granularly, how do we balance operational needs, capital costs, the lifespan of critical assets, and energy use? The traditional total cost of ownership (TCO)
approach looks at the energy cost based on a compressor package’s power or specific power consumption. Whereas a complete operational analysis looks at everything from the compressor to the environment in which it operates, as well as operational demands such as peaks and troughs in air demand and operational expansion planning. A finite analysis of the bigger picture - understanding how even the most minor system elements impact the energy consumption associated with the compressor. The aim is to strike the right balance in technical and economic choices - in compressor units, capacities, operational parameters, energy efficiency, planning for future air demand changes, and considering energy costs related to leakages, inappropriate use of air, artificial demand, etc. Compressed air users need to look at their operational demand and see what compressed air is necessary for their specific operation throughout the production cycle. Then they should study how to optimise the compressor room and question the hardware and the settings of the compressed air installation. After this study, compressed air users can truly safeguard their assets, investments, and
SAFEGUARDING YOUR COMPRESSED
AIR ASSETS GOING BEYOND THE COMPRESSOR, BEYOND THE COMPRESSED AIR SYSTEM FOR A COMPLETE OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS TO MAXIMISE EFFICIENCY AND SAFEGUARD YOUR ASSETS
energy costs and ultimately achieve a new low in compressed air TCO.
CLOSE, BUT LET’S TAKE A WIDER LOOK AT SAFEGUARDING YOUR ASSETS
To describe it better, let’s take a look at a hypothetical process when a customer considers expanding its manufacturing site, adding another production line, increasing its manufacturing capacity, etc. In such a case, a typical discussion between the compressed air user and air compressor supplier about the new compressed air demands starts with the customer’s request for more air assuming that an additional or larger compressor is the solution. The thing is, simply adding another compressor is not the answer when the surrounding system stays the same. This can result in too much stress executed on the system’s existing structure and can lead to reduced overall efficiency. Why? When a manufacturing plant or line is being
built, a compressed air system is planned and designed to fit the capacity load of a particular production process. It all works as planned and achieves planned results. When the company’s operations grow, and the plant increases production, the air-demands change. And adding another compressor to fit the increasing needs is not the answer. Before even considering that compressed air users should work with the experts to conduct a detailed analysis of how the current system is performing at a given time and within given demands. Before any decision is made, a holistic analysis of the entire production system, historical and planned air requirements, current
piping, and checks for leaks should be done. Quite often, the expansion of a manufacturing site or production line won’t even require adding another compressor. Finetuning the existing assets to run at proper and adapted loads – not at the highest pressures or extreme duties – can result in lowered pressure on the entire system and reduce energy consumption. It’s an easy route to add another compressor, but taking a holistic approach, analysing and optimising the existing system and its elements, is the key to safeguarding your assets and achieving the desired energy efficiency improvements.
LET’S AUDIT, RIGHT-SIZE, AND IMPLEMENT
Before making a decision on what to do, whether to replace a compressor, add another one, or adjust the existing system, an audit of the operations is necessary. A compressed air auditor can check the entire system and establish the input, the state of the compressor units and how they are running, and what exact pressures are required. This will paint a picture of the system with its surroundings, elements, pipework, and critical consumption. With this knowledge, we can move to the next step, which is making an educated decision on how to optimise it to meet the new requirements. Very often, the new, expanded production requirements can be met with the same power but adjustments to the airflow (of course, depending on the size of the expansion). It’s all about right-sizing the air needs. Let’s show this based on a concrete example. A plant with current compressed air demand is expanding its operations and requires an increase of up to 35% in compressed air. Our job is to see
36 OCTOBER 2022 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
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