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 Pneumatic
Leaks = Higher Energy Costs: How to lower them:
Did you know that a ¼” leak will waste
$47,360.00 in a year’s time? Almost every plant has at least one
air compressor that sits and pumps out compressed air to perform
a myriad of plant operations.
In some plants, the air compressor(s) account for 30% or
more of the energy consumed.
Compressed air is the most expensive source of energy in
most facilities, and there are many ways to reduce it use.
With all of the effort to lower energy
costs – Go Green – it only makes sense to look at savings
resulting from reducing compressed air.
The single most common waste of compressed air is leaks.
Eliminating or reducing these can pay huge benefits.
A ¼” orifice (leak) will waste 80 scfm @ 100 psig.
Cost of this over a year is $47,360.00 based on an
industrial rate for
Kentucky
of $0.04050/kwh.
This is like to running a 20 HP compressor and venting the
discharge to atmosphere!
Leaks come from many areas: filter bowl
manual drain(s) left cracked open, drip leg ball valve(s) open
to drain the water, cylinder piston seal(s) worn and allowing
“blow by” to mention just a few.
Attention to correcting these will have a big payoff.
In plants there are other areas where air
is wasted, essentially a leak.
A venturi vacuum system that once achieves the vacuum
level continues to exhaust compressed air needlessly.
Lapped spoon valves, essentially air bearings, have
inherent leakage that far exceeds that of bonded spool valve
designs.
Reducing the volume of air used is another
means of achieving energy savings.
If the plant air pressure can be reduced slightly, even 1
or 2 psig, the energy savings over a year are significant.
Another way to reduce compressed air usage is through
implementing dual air pressure to operate air cylinders.
For example, a cylinder may do ‘work’ on the extend
stroke and typically the retract stroke operates at the same
pressure. However,
the return stroke could operate at far less, maybe 30 psig.
Operating a 2.5 x 12” stoke cylinder @80 psig extend and
@30 psig retract for 12 cycles per minute for one (1) shift
could save $17.60 per year.
Not huge, but what if you had an operation with 200
actuators and they work two or three shifts?
The savings mount up.
It might not be economical to retrofit existing systems,
but you could start now with dual pressure on new installations
and begin saving.
Many make an effort to turn off lights
after a meeting, replace incandescent bulbs with CFL’s, doesn’t
it make more sense to concentrate on the reducing most expensive
energy user in your plant?
Want more help in saving money in your operation by reducing air
consumption? Ask the
experts at Air Hydro Power for a price on an Energy Audit for
your factory! |
