Industrial Utility Efficiency

System Assessments

Given that compressed air leak management programs are meant to save energy, reduce CO2 emissions, and generate ROI, DENSO’s Maryville, Tennessee, manufacturing facility can definitively say it has scored a trifecta when it comes to results – and reaped benefits beyond hard numbers alone.

Compressed Air Guidelines for Varying Production Levels

Companies will experience periods of increased production, as well as periods of slower or stopped production. It’s the nature of being in business. Understanding the implications of these business shifts for compressed-air installations (the powerhouse behind a facility’s production) is key for ensuring that air compressors remain functional and efficient. Here are guidelines to ensure your facility’s compressed-air system operates at top performance, no matter the speed of production.

Leak Detection Technology Transitions Toward Maintenance 4.0

Awareness and interest in leak detection only continues to grow thanks to a number of factors. What we have seen over the last 20 years is a more sustainable way of thinking, established international energy efficiency standards, reliable leak detection technology, and best practices to implement leak detection.

Saint-Gobain Makes Solving Sustainability Competitive and Fun

Challenging teams of employees to generate energy savings while having a good time in the process is the idea behind Saint-Gobain’s “Compress It,” which is the name given to the company’s competition and ongoing effort to reduce compressed air energy and costs. The initiative, which Saint-Gobain rolled out to manufacturing plants throughout North America in 2018, has been met with success. Compress It identified potential energy savings amounting to 26 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity and \$2.5 million.

Tier 1 Automotive Supplier Saves Energy Upgrading Centrifugal Air Compressor Controls

A Tier 1 automotive supplier was concerned its compressed air system was not operating as efficiently as it could be. The situation called for a site visit and metering and evaluation of the company’s air compressors to generate a representative data sample that accurately captured the compressed air needs during typical production and non-production periods.

Heat of Compression: A Major Energy Recovery Opportunity Often Ignored

Often when you mention heat of compression the first thought generally relates to HOC desiccant dryers, which are also an under-applied opportunity for heat recovery. However, there are many other heat of compression recoverable energy savings opportunities in all compressed air and gas systems. This article reviews many opportunities in energy heat recovery and provides answer to commonly asked question.

How to Avoid Control Gap with VFD Rotary Screw Air Compressors

Air compressors need to be matched to load effectively and efficiently. If the air compressors’ range of variation can’t be matched to the system variation, instability and/or inefficiency can result. This article discusses the problem when it isn’t matched, which is called “control gap” and what to do to avoid it.

Winpak Reduces Demand by 33% and Switches to Oil-Free Air Compressors

By making changes primarily focused on compressed air uses, Winpak, an international plastics products manufacturer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, increased compressed air production capacity and reduced annual energy consumption by 33%. These benefits have been accomplished while the company was making the switch to lubricant-free compressed air to support product quality goals. This article discusses some of these changes and addresses measures that could be implemented in any compressed air system.

IUE-CWA Labor Union Members Embrace Energy Treasure Hunts

Manufacturers familiar with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Energy Treasure Hunts initiative know it’s a great way to save energy and natural resources – as long as it’s done right – which is why some are turning to perhaps their best asset to achieve success: their unionized workforce.

Protect Profits with Compressed Air Leakage Best Practices

This article discusses leak assessments and the barriers to effective leak management. Some best practices will be discussed as suggested tips to help you get the most of your leakage reduction efforts. We all hear it time and time again, leakage reduction is one of the first things we can do to reduce compressed air system electrical costs. Yet almost every industrial compressed air system assessment finds high levels of leakage, and too often plant maintenance staff are fully aware they have a problem but fail to act.

Compressor Controls

As part of its ongoing corporate initiative to find ways to reduce its energy bills, and the costly

Piping Storage

Blowing a jet of compressed air at an object is a common but “poor” use of compressed air. Often

End Uses

In this article, we will provide detail on the characteristics of the baseline system and then

Pressure

During Dealer Week, they needed enough compressed air to power multiple machines at a time all day

Air Treatment/N2

Over the last two decades, there has been a significant increase of manufacturing facilities

Leaks

Given that compressed air leak management programs are meant to save energy, reduce CO2 emissions,

Pneumatics

If there was ever a place where manufacturers can save energy using compressed air and make

Vacuum/Blowers

A ‘Process’ application, is one where it’s all about controlling the contents of a vessel, pipeline