Compressed air, reduce your energy costs
Published: 04 October, 2007
If you use compressed air in your facility, there are opportunities for you to reduce your energy costs and improve productivity from the British Compressed Air Society (BCAS), in a risk free project being offered in partnership with the Carbon Trust.
The project complements existing Carbon Trust compressed air related activities and forms part of BCAS' ongoing carbon reduction drive targeting two of the greatest sources of avoidable waste in compressed air systems:
- Leakage - wasting air through leaks persists as the greatest single source of avoidable waste, typically 20-30%, but can be above 50% in some cases. Compressed air leaks cause fluctuating system pressure leading to less efficient operation of air powered equipment and processes. Leaks reduce productivity and contribute to your Companies carbon emissions. The awareness level of the leak problem is not matched by implementation of leak management programmes.
- Over-pressurisation – this is a widespread practice due to the inherent need for a continuous compressed air supply for production, the continuity being a far greater immediate importance than saving energy. This project will complement the general advice of reducing pressure whilst raising awareness and trialling a technology which allows pressure reduction without compromising supply. The proven savings on sites to date are typically around 15%.
If you have a compressed air system, with multiple compressors and an installed capacity of at least 100kW then this project is for you. The loan of the pressure-flow control equipment and its installation will be provided free of charge by BCAS members. The project is risk free and the results of the air audit and savings will be verified by AEA Energy and Environment.
Dedicated project website: www.compressedairenergy.org.uk
For further information please e-mail Chris Dee, executive director at BCAS on chris@bcas.org.uk
