16.

10 Energy Conservation Aspects in Compressed Air System

Energy conservation opportunities in air compressors and compressed air systems are tremendous. Many of the
energy savings ideas can be adopted either at the design stage or during operation.

The energy saving potential in compressed air systems vary from 20 – 30%. The following are some of the
aspects to be considered :
16.10.1 Minimize unload power consumption by correctly sizing the compressor
The total energy consumption of the compressed air system depends on correct type of size of compressors. If
the installed compressor capacity is much higher than the compressed air requirement of the plant the
compressor often falls in unloading mode.

The loading / unloading of the compressor is done based on the receiver pressure. If the compressed air
delivery is more than the requirement of the plant, the system pressure increases. Once the system pressure
reaches the unload set pressure the compressor gets unloaded.

The compressor remains in the unload mode till the system pressure drops due to compressed air consumption
in the plant and reaches the set load pressure.

During unloading the suction valve of the compressor is closed. There is no air intake / delivery from the
compressor i.e there is no useful work done by the compressor. The power consumption of the compressor is
used only to overcome the internal frictional losses.

The unload power consumption of the compressors is significant. In case of reciprocating compressors the
unload power consumption is in the range of 15-20% of load power consumption. For screw compressors the
unload power is still higher, which would be in the range of 30-35% of load power consumption.

Hence energy saving can be achieved by minimizing the unload power consumption. The unloading of the
compressor can be minimized by correctly sizing the compressor at the design stage itself i.e excess cushion on
capacity of the compressor has to be reduced. Maximum 10% excess on capacity of compressor is allowed.

In the existing system the following options can be considered to minimize the unload power consumption.

 Installation of ON/OFF type of compressor

 Reducing the speed of the compressor

For smaller capacity of compressors i.e < 100 cfm ON/OFF type compressors can be selected instead of Load /
Unload type compressors. In ON/OFF type, once the required pressure is achieved the compressor is switched
off. Hence there is no unload power consumption. In case of the belt driven reciprocating compressors the
speed can be permanently reduced by altering the pulley sizes to minimize the unload power consumption.

Precaution has to be taken that the speed reduction in reciprocating compressor does not exceed 20% of the
rated speed of the compressor. In reciprocating compressors the lubricating oil pump is directly connected to the
main drive. Hence any further reduction in speed of the compressor may affect the lubrication system.

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16.10.2 Suction air intake to air compressor
The compressors generate heat, due to their continuous operation. This heat gets dissipated inside the
compressor room / chamber / leading to hot air feed to the compressor intake. This results in lower volumetric
efficiency and higher power consumption. For an approximate 4o C rise in temperature, the power consumption
increases by 1% for the same output.

Hence, it is recommended to provide a separate suction duct from outside (atmosphere) to the compressor
directly.

16.10.3 Segregation of HP & LP Compressed air system: Pressure Vs Power Consumption

Higher the pressure, higher is the power consumption. In any industry, the compressor is selected for the high
pressure requirement, though there are both higher and low pressure users.

While calculating the average compressed air consumption of the plant, the total requirement of Low Pressure
(2.5 to 3.5 bar) and High Pressure (above 3.5 bar) compressed air has to be estimated. If any, say LP or HP air
constitutes more than 30 % of the average compressed air consumption and then separate compressed air
system has to be installed. The segregation of HP & LP compressed air user has many advantages.

They are:

 Reduces the leakages proportionally, as the leakage levels are high at higher pressures.

 Reduces the overall operating cost. Say a 20 % reduction in pressure results in 20% reduction in power
consumption of the compressors. Moreover, the wear & tear of the compressors are less at low
pressures.

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16.10.4 Minimize unload power consumption when combination of reciprocating and
screw compressors are in operation

Utilisation of both reciprocating compressors and the latest screw compressors is quite common. During normal
operation, when there is a fluctuation in compressed air requirement both the reciprocating compressors and the
screw compressors get unloaded.

The unload power consumption of the reciprocating machines is much lower than the unload power
consumption of screw compressors. In reciprocating machines the unload power consumption is only about 15-
20% of the load power consumption where as in screw compressors it is in the range of 30-35% of load power.

Hence the screw compressor should never be allowed to unload. The pressure settings of the compressors
should be reset in such a way that the screw compressor should be always on loading and the reciprocating
compressor gets loaded/unloaded depending upon the requirement.
16.10.5 Install screw compressors with built-in variable frequency drives (VFD) for
fluctuating loads
Variable speed drives eg. (variable frequency drives) can be installed for all types of air compressors. However, it
is best suited for screw air compressors. The advantages of installing VFD for screw air compressors are:

 All the compressors connected to a common system operate at a constant pressure. The
operating pressure will be lesser than the average operating pressure of loading / unloading
system. Hence, energy saving is achieved due to pressure reduction.

 The compressors will not operate in load / unload mode. This saves the unload power
consumption.
 Air leakages in the compressed air system also come down since the average operating pressure
is less.

Generally, high capacity air compressors are operated with loading / unloading control, as in the case of screw &
reciprocating compressors and with inlet vane control for centrifugal compressors.

In loading / unloading type of control, receiver pressure is sensed and the compressor load / unloads depending
on the pressure. Hence a compressor operates within a band of pressure range. Generally air compressors
operate with 1 ksc pressure range.

For example, for a compressor operating between load pressure of 6 ksc & unload pressure of 7 ksc; the
average pressure is 6.5 ksc, (bandwidth 1 ksc). The power consumption of the compressor operating constantly
at 6 ksc with VFD comes down by 5 to 6 %. By installing a VFD, it is possible to maintain a bandwidth of 0.1 ksc.

The major advantage of variable speed drive is that if 4 or 5 compressors are connected to a common header,
then by installing VFD in one compressor, the energy savings due to pressure reduction is achieved in all the
compressors

Since the average operating pressure with VFD is less (6 ksc instead of 6.5 ksc as per earlier example) the air
leakages in the system is also minimized.

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The installation of VFD facilitates to reduce / increase the speed of the compressor depending on the
requirement. This completely avoids unloading and saves unload power consumption, which is normally 25 to

35% of the full load consumption.

The screw compressors with built in variable frequency drive facilitates fine - tuning of the compressor capacity
precisely to meet the fluctuating compressed air demand. This leads to precise pressure regulation. It accurately
measures the system pressure and adjusts the speed to automatically maintain a constant pressure.

Hence it is recommended to install screw compressors with built-in VFD for fluctuating loads, at design stage
itself.

16.10.6 Minimize compressed air pressure fluctuation by installing intermediate control

system
The quantity of compressed air requirement varies depending on the users. The variation in quantity is
substantial due to sudden requirement in the intermittent users. Majority of time the duration of usage may be
small but quantity requirement is significant. This leads to fluctuation in overall system pressure.

A sudden air demand leads to reduction in overall system pressure and makes the compressor to load. There is
time delay between the reduction in system demand and the compressor to sense the pressure to come to load
mode. Majority of time the time delay is so much that by the time the compressor comes to the load mode the
demand vanishes and the compressor pumps air into the system to the higher- pressure limit.

Thus the system operates for artificial demand and not for the real demand. The compressor must be always
ready to satisfy these peaks in anticipation.

If the pressure is simply reduced, that would result in negative impact on production such as decrease in
efficiency of production and quality related problems. Hence a proper balancing of supply and demand is
needed to satisfy the production without creating an artificial demand. This can be achieved by installing an
intermediate controller between the compressor and the end users.

The intermediate controller creates a useful storage by introducing a controlled differential pressure across an
upstream receiver. This storage isolates the compressor from demand side. Peaks are dealt with the reserve
energy stored.

Thus by providing air at controlled differential at an optimum pressure, mass of air is reduced and high pressure
storage is created to increase the unload time of compressors. The increase in unload time leads to reduction in
overall energy consumption of compressors.

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16.10.7 Minimize compressed air leakages
Quantity of air losses through small holes, cracks, leaky couplings, joints, etc, can add up to a very large value.
With proper installation and maintenance, leakage losses should not exceed 5% of the total capacity of the
compressor. Keeping this in view, the compressed air system has to be provided with good controls, so as to
keep the leakage levels to a bare minimum of 5% of the total compressed air generation.

The following should be taken care of at design stage, so as to reduce leakage levels at:

 Welded joints should be used instead of screwed joints as far as possible.

 Install ball valves at the user ends, to facilitate easy opening & closing of valves.

 Initiate a system to replace the flexibles, rubber hoses, joints, packings, etc., in regular intervals
(Say once in 3 months).

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  The compressors are to be provided with hour meters for measuring the loading / Unloading
periods. The increase in the loading period for the same production levels, indicates the increase

in leakage levels.

 Normally, most of the engineering plants operate for two shifts only. However, some units
(eg.,heat treatment shops, etc.,) have to operate continuously in these plants. In order to support
this activity the whole compressed air system has to function continuously. In such large size
plants, having many individual work shops and a centralized compressor house, individual shop-
wise solenoid control valves for compressed air lines have to be installed.

 The solenoid valve helps in cutting the compressed air supply to the individual shop when there is
no activity. This minimise the leakage loss and pressure drop to a considerable level. Hence, it is
recommended to install individual shop wise solenoid control valves for the compressed air line at
design itself, so as to minimise the compressed air leakages during non-active periods.

The relation between hole size, quantity of compressed air leakage and power loss is given below.

16.10.8 Substitution of compressed air

Compressed air is highly energy intensive and costly. So the factory manager has to think of the possibilities of
replacing compressed air, with an equivalent energy source at design stage.

The possible areas for substituting compressed air are:

Agitation: Normally compressed air is utilised for agitation purposes in ETP tanks, Pretreatment tanks, etc., For
agitation purposes, the quantity of air required is important than the pressure (required only to push through the
water column through – a max of 10m (1.0 ksc) height). This can be replaced with a Roots Blower. A high-
pressure blower, can generate pressures upto 2.0 ksc) agitation, thereby saving enormous power and cost on
layout.

Cooling: Compressed air for cooling is a common practice in Engineering, auto component & tyre industry.
Cooling also requires large quantity of air at low pressure. Compressed air for cooling purposes can be replaced
with a blower cooling. This not only saves power, but also provides effective cooling.

Air Curtain: Compressed air for providing air curtains is also a common practice adopted in many industries. Air
curtains are required, so as to avoid heat loss from the ovens, shots from shot blasting machine, etc,
Compressed air for such air curtains can be replaced with a blower.

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Power saving of 50% is possible by replacing the compressed air with blower air. So it is recommended to
substitute compressed air with a suitable equivalent source, say a roots blower, blower etc.

16.10.9 Install transvector nozzles for cleaning hoses

The use of compressed air for cleaning applications is common in the industry. The cleaning application requires
large quantity of air at low pressure (2.5 ksc), while compressed air at 6.0 ksc is normally used for cleaning
applications. This is mainly due to the usage of centralized compressed air for cleaning applications.

As a first step, one should think of operating a separate on/off package air compressor at low pressure for
cleaning applications.

Wherever such separate compressed air system for cleaning cannot be justified, transvector nozzles can be
installed for the compressed air cleaning hoses, to minimise the compressed air consumption.

Transvector nozzles are based on the venturi effect - The passing of high-pressure air through a constricted
hole, creates a vacuum: This results in the atmospheric air getting sucked through the circumferential holes
provided. Results show that almost 30 to 40 % of the atmospheric air is utilised, thereby reducing the
compressed air consumption. This offers a good potential to consider installation of transvector nozzles for the
cleaning hoses at design stage.

16.10.10 Install electrical tools as much as possible, instead of pneumatic tools

The replacement of pneumatic tools with electrical tools will result in a power savings of 30%. Moreover,
pneumatic tools are highly leak-prone. This results in unnecessary wastage of compressed air and energy.

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Hither to, the electrical tools had some design problems like overweight, overheating, frequent armature failures,
etc,. Now these have been taken care of and new generation of high frequency electrical tools is also available.
So it is recommended to consider electrical tools in place of pneumatic tools at design stage itself.