Savvy solutions to energy issues

If the public were asked to name the fourth utility in an industrial environment, they might be surprised by the answer. In fact, many would be hard pressed to define what it is. For anyone running an industrial plant however, there is little doubt that the answer is compressed air. And as this can account for up to 30% of a site’s total electricity usage, there is considerable pressure to manage this utility more efficiently, so less energy is expended.

Latest UK figures estimate that more than 10TWh of electricity is used every year to compress air in industry. In output terms that equates to 1.5 power stations and over five million tonnes of C02 being released into the atmosphere. In a global economy committed to reducing energy usage and environmental impact, the introduction of the ISO 11011 standard to control the use of compressed air could not have come at a better time.

Designed to help compressed air users, rather than to catch them out, the guidelines laid out within the ISO 11011 ask for energy audits to be carried out that can establish the volume of compressed air a company uses and how much it costs to generate. 

While adhering to yet more processes can seem burdensome, following the rules offers some payback. The mandatory CRC (Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency) Scheme and ECA (Enhanced Capital Allowance) Scheme offer both public and private organisations tax relief and financial benefits by complying with measures to reduce carbon emissions and by investing in equipment that is proven to save on energy. So what are the steps to a more energy- and cost-efficient way of managing compressed air output?

Getting a precise audit of just how and where compressed air is being used is the quickest route to being more energy savvy. Logging equipment installed by specialist engineers can monitor the energy and operating efficiency of a compressed air system, which in turn leads to an accurate report that highlights just how energy can be saved. 

One of the biggest fault areas with an air compression system is leakage. Bearing in mind that the financial implications of just one 3mm hole could be as much as £1000 a year in wasted energy, it’s certainly prudent to keep leaks to a minimum.  Specialist ultrasound detection equipment used during a leak detection survey - as part of an audit - translates and transforms the sounds made by escaping air into an optical sign, so wherever the loss is occurring, it can be directly addressed and mended.

The audit can also detect if there is unnecessary high pressure which can of course impact on the service life and efficiency level of a compressed air system. As a result of this particular detection, some companies have made a decision to upgrade their system. Although this may seem like a further financial layout at a time when it was not expected, the return on investment usually more than makes up for it. This is because using more up to date and efficient components may result in lower energy consumption and, in some cases, a reduction in the number of compressors required to run the entire system. This can reap even more cost-saving benefits if the new compressor is equipped with a built-in leakage monitoring device that visually calculates and displays the estimated cost of any leaks.

With equipment available such as multi-processor controllers, that allow pressure and output of two or more units to be controlled and monitored by one central controller, the options and routes to managing a more efficient compressed air system are numerous.

Of course, undergoing an energy audit holds little or no value unless action is taken to fix problems and a regular maintenance schedule is introduced to ensure issues such as leakage are kept at bay. With users of compressed air becoming more aware that prevention is better - and less costly - than avoidance or cure, it’s time for this fourth utility to prove that it’s more than a lot of hot air.