An exercise that began with the intention of reducing compressor downtime has resulted in the additional benefit of significant energy savings, currently at a rate of 14,000kWh per month, for Steel & Alloy Processing. The company recently reduced the number of compressors at its various sites in favour of a single energy-saving CompAir L45SR speed regulated rotary screw compressor. Three of the existing compressors were retained and used in conjunction with a new CompAir unit, cutting the total from six to four.#
In the last eight months, the company has made a saving of approximately 111,000kWh thanks to the new system - a financial saving of around £5,000. This in turn has brought the payback period for the new system down from 22 months to less than 20 months.
CompAir’s LSR rotary screw range of compressors uses a digitally controlled switched reluctance DC drive. This cycles up or down in order to meet the required air flow, rather than the compressor loading and offloading to regulate the air supply. Energy consumption is thus eliminated during periods of unloaded running (conventional compressors) resulting in substantial energy savings.