System Assessments

Thought Leaders on System Optimization Past & Future

Edited by Troy Dreier, Senior Editor, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

We asked a hand-selected list of original equipment manufacturers, independent compressed air system sales and service companies, manufacturing plants and independent system auditors to share their thoughts, highlighting the changes they’ve seen over the past 20 years, then predicting what the next 20 years will bring.

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Four Principles for Sustaining Energy Savings

By Paul Edwards, Compressed Air Consultants

When Compressed Air Consultants was starting, in 2003, we were approached by a company experiencing significant problems with their compressed air system. They had compressed air pressure problems causing production interruptions. They had moisture issues causing all kinds of havoc throughout the facility and appeared to be using far too many air compressors for what they wanted to accomplish.

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Utility Energy Efficiency Program Viewpoint - Calculating Project Savings: Vortex Vacuum Generators and Outside Air Intake

By Jerry Zolkowski, PE, CEM, Senior Engineer, Consumers Business Energy Efficiency Solutions

The intent of this article is to provide readers with simple examples of calculations one can perform to evaluate two sample energy efficiency projects for compressed air systems; pressure sensing vortex vacuum generators and outside air intake (for air compressors).

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Automaker PROTON Attacks Compressed Air Waste

By Abdul Azeem bin Mohamed Mohideen, Electrical Energy Manager, PROTON

Edited by Ron Marshall

Compressed air optimization measures adopted by PTMSB have reduced the consumption of compressed air by 31 percent resulting in savings of about 3,761,000 kWh per year in energy consumption. The monetary savings are MYR 1,090,627 per year (\$255,000 USD). The CO2 reduction is estimated at 2,735 ton per year.

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The Importance of Bi-directional Compressed Air Flow Measurement

By Pascal van Putten, CEO, VPInstruments

Technology is available which enables a compressed air flow meter to measure not only the magnitude of the flow, but also the direction. Why is this important? In this article we will describe two case studies where bi-directional compressed air flow measurement plays a key role to come to the right conclusions. In the first case study, we will describe an electronics manufacturing plant, which has a large interconnected ring network with two air compressor rooms located in different buildings. The two air compressor rooms are about five hundred feet apart. In the second case study, the effect of compressed air flow measurement upstream of a local receiver tank is described.

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Managing Pressure Regulator Artificial Demand, Part 1

By Murray Nottle, Working Air System Engineer, The Carnot Group

Pressure regulators are everywhere compressed air is used. These simple devices, essential for safe and steady equipment operation, can be a big waster of compressed air. This article shows how with proper regulator selection, installation and setting management you can save compressed air and lower system pressures. This article looks at regulators on production equipment not central regulators or Process Flow Controllers.

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Sparks Dynamics Optimizes NIST Compressed Air System

By Mac Mottley, CEO, Sparks Dynamics

The objective of this project is to help the building automation industry develop novel products that more cost-effectively identify faults (unwanted conditions) and inefficiencies in the operation of the compressed air plants of industrial facilities. More cost-effective fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) products can come to the building automation marketplace only after that industry makes very significant advances in the state-of-the-art of its FDD software tools from what it currently offers. Those advances require making common practice of rules-based artificial intelligence (AI) methods that the building automation industry has shown little to no familiarity with in its technology so far. This project will utilize, under controlled conditions, the compressed air plant of the NIST campus as a facility for test and development of an embedded rules-based FDD tool based upon NIST expertise.

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German Lab Relies upon Water-injected Oil-free Air Compressor

By Martina Bopp

Rotary screw air compressor that makes its own lubricant from the surrounding air delivers oil-free compressed air to an environmental laboratory in Stuttgart, Germany - Many sensitive sectors of industry require oil-free compressed air. However, meeting this demand is often not as simple as it sounds. One way is to use oil-injected air compressors with downstream air treatment to meet the demand. A second option is oil-free air compressors, which operate without lubricants. Both versions have their own advantages as well as risks. Another alternative is to use rotary screw air compressors that use water as a lubricant.

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Control Panel Cooling Change Saves Compressed Air Electrical Costs

By Ron Marshall for the Compressed Air Challenge®

As a result of compressed air awareness training and a focus on energy management, two facilities in different parts of the world have reduced their compressed air demand substantially by removing vortex style cabinet coolers from some of their electrical panels and reworking the cooling systems. These facilities were previously unaware of the high cost of compressed air and how much could be saved if other methods of cooling were used. This article describes some of their efforts in demand reduction.

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ELGi Compressors USA at HAECO Americas

By Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

In aerospace manufacturing, tiny details matter most. For instance, if proper torque is not applied to the screws and bolts fastening an aircraft fuselage, catastrophic failures can result. Compressed air is used to power the tools needed to apply that torque, making the compressed air system a critical part of the facility, though it largely stays behind the scene.

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Packaging Company Receives More Than Just Backup Air

By Jeremy Theis, sales engineer, Diversified Air Systems, Inc.

When a successful Midwestern United States-based packaging company reached out to Cleveland, Ohio-based Diversified Air Systems, Inc. (Diversified), it was simply looking to fulfill its need for backup air. Compressed air is a vital component of the packaging company’s business, used for a variety of purposes, such as in its corrugating machines, conveyors, actuators, and more. In the end, the company received much more than just air redundancy, including a new variable speed drive, two-stage air compressor, a completely reconfigured and upgraded piping system, improved system efficiencies, energy savings, and a significant energy rebate.

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