COMPRESSED AIR ENGINEERING FACILITY
A team of compressed air specialists consulted with SMARTCAir to evaluate its factory’s own compressed air setup, anticipating increased production demands. The goal was to boost air capacity to support growth while keeping energy costs and downtime to a minimum. SMARTCAir conducted a detailed assessment to find the most cost-effective way to meet roughly 12% higher air demand without a proportional increase in energy usage.
Current Issues
Capacity Strain at Peak Demand
Capacity Strain at Peak Demand
Capacity Strain at Peak Demand
During normal operation, the plant’s air flow ranged between 300–400 CFM, but occasional peaks reached 600+ CFM. The existing system used a 75 hp variable-speed compressor (Atlas Copco GA 55) as the primary, with a 50 hp unit (GA 37) starting up to handle the peaks. This configuration struggled to maintain pressure during surges, indicating the system was near its capacity limit.
Inefficient Backup Usage
Capacity Strain at Peak Demand
Capacity Strain at Peak Demand
When the smaller compressor joined for peak loads, both machines would run partially loaded for extended periods. This was not energy-efficient – two compressors running to supply ~300 CFM when one could handle the base load. The frequent cycling of the second compressor added unnecessary energy consumption and wear.
Limited Air Storage
Limited Air Storage
Limited Air Storage
The facility had only a 120-gallon air receiver, which provided minimal buffer. The lack of storage meant any short-term surge immediately required extra compressor power, causing rapid start-stop cycles and pressure fluctuations.
No Full Redundancy
Limited Air Storage
Limited Air Storage
In the existing setup, if the primary compressor failed or during maintenance, the backup alone could not sustain full production air needs. This raised concerns about reliability as demand grew.
Proposed Solution
Increased Receiver Volume:
Install significantly more air storage capacity. The solution called for adding receivers to bring total volume up to 2,720 gallons (from just 120). This large buffer smooths out demand spikes, so compressors don’t have to react instantly to every peak. It allows the primary compressor to run steadily and the secondary to only start for true high-demand events.
Optimized Compressor Staging (Model “B”):
Continue using the existing GA 55 VSD (75 hp) as the trim compressor and GA 37 (50 hp) as the base-load machine, but with improved control setpoints. With the expanded storage, the GA 37 can carry the base load efficiently, and the GA 55 will ramp up or down to fine-tune pressure, eliminating the inefficient overlap where both ran heavily in the old setup. This staging ensures one compressor runs near full load at any time while the other idles unless needed.
Pressure Setpoint Tuning:
Adjust system pressure controls to prevent both compressors from running together unnecessarily. By slightly lowering the pressure band and allowing the new large receivers to handle short fluctuations, the GA 37 can be turned off sooner after a peak. The GA 55 (VSD) then maintains pressure alone for most of the time, which is more efficient than two machines running.
Avoiding Oversized Equipment:
An alternative “Model A” option considered buying a larger 125 hp compressor to replace the GA 55. SMARTCAir determined this would raise energy costs significantly (by ~$5,200/yr). Instead, the chosen solution leveraged existing equipment plus storage to meet the demand increase at a fraction of the energy cost impact.
Savings
Increased Capacity:
Increased Capacity:
Increased Capacity:
+12.3% more compressed air flow throughput (able to handle higher production needs) without installing a major new compressor.
Energy Efficiency:
Increased Capacity:
Increased Capacity:
About 15% improvement in energy per unit of air delivered (specific power dropped from ~20.2 to 17.3 kW/100 CFM). The primary VSD compressor now carries the load more efficiently, and the secondary runs far less often.
Minimal Cost Impact:
Minimal Cost Impact:
Minimal Cost Impact:
Annual electricity use rose only 2.5%, roughly an $800/year increase, despite the significant capacity boost. In other words, the plant can support the higher air demand with virtually no increase in energy bills. This is a huge cost avoidance compared to a typical expansion, and actually lowers the cost per cubic foot of air produced.
Stable Emissions:
Minimal Cost Impact:
Minimal Cost Impact:
The carbon emissions change is negligible since energy use barely changed. The plant maintained nearly the same annual CO2 emissions even after expanding its production capacity (implying a net reduction in emissions intensity per unit of output).
Conclusion
SMARTCAir’s assessment provided our customer with a smart expansion strategy for its compressed air system. By adding storage and fine-tuning controls, the facility achieved the needed 12% boost in air output with only a 2.5% uptick in energy consumption. The solution avoided a costly new compressor purchase and kept operating costs low. In practice, the system now runs mostly on one compressor, with the second unit on standby – improving overall efficiency and reducing unnecessary runtime. This means this company can grow its operations confidently, knowing its compressed air system can deliver the extra air without a big jump in energy cost or risk of downtime.
SMARTCair
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