Sony secures savings
September 1st 2011 The West Sussex manufacturing
plant of Sony DADC UK is saving
more than 700,000kWh per year
from its compressor-installed energy
recovery systems and has gained a
secondary, back-up heating source
into the bargain.
The plant operates two
independent compressed air
networks at 7 and 8.4 bar with the
principal input coming from an
Atlas Copco ZR160VSDFF oil-free,
water-cooled rotary screw
compressor. Energy is recovered
from this unit and used for office
heating, heat for the packing area
and condensation protection inside
the warehouse complex.
The compressor has an integral
energy recovery capability that
enables hot water to be taken from
its outlet at temperatures to 85°C, a
standard or retrofit option available
on Atlas Copco water-cooled
compressors in its ZR55-900 range.
Hot water returns at about 35°C in a
closed loop. Usable heat is
transferred to other site operations
by means of plate heat exchangers;
the network is controlled by the site's
BMS.
Dean Shackel, facilities manager,
says energy recovery figures come to
100-110kW on average from the
ZR160VSDFF alone and that total
savings from use of the recovery
feature and hot air use from the
outlet of two other Atlas Copco aircooled
units, comes to over
700,000kWh/year. More articles from Atlas Copco Ltd: | 
