Compressed air is the most expensive utility for most industrial
facilities. The energy costs associated with the generation of compressed air
can be very high. Because of this, EXAIR
manufactures a wide range of products geared towards reducing your overall
compressed air consumption.
The best way to save compressed air is to simply turn it off
when it’s not being used. This might seem pretty simple, but there may be
processes in your facility where this couldn’t be achieved by just turning a
valve. In applications where product is traveling along a conveyor, and must
be dried, cooled, or blown off, there is likely some spacing in between the
parts. It isn’t necessary to keep the blowoff running constantly if there’s
periods of intermittent spacing. To help reduce the overall load on the air
compressor, implementing a solution to shut the air off in between each part
can have a dramatic impact. EXAIR’s Electronic Flow Control,
or EFC, is designed to improve efficiency by reducing overall compressed air
usage. It utilizes a photoelectric sensor that detects when the part is
present. When it’s not, it triggers a solenoid valve to close and shut off
the compressed air supply.
Let’s take a look at an example that shows just how much air
(and $$) an EFC can save.
We had a manufacturer of car bumpers that was using a Model 112060
60” Super Ion Air Knife supplied at 40 PSIG to remove dust prior to a
painting operation. The bumpers were moving at about 10’/minute and had 1’ of
spacing in between each part. The bumpers are only under the blowoff for 10 seconds,
while 6 seconds passed with no part present. With a (3) shift operation, this
translates to 1,440 minutes of nonstop compressed air usage per day.
A 60” Super Ion Air Knife will consume 102 scfm at 40 PSIG.
Their current method was using a total of 146,880 SCFM.
102
SCFM x 1,440 minutes = 146,880 SCF
With the EFC installed, the air was shut off for 6 seconds
reducing the airflow by 37.5%. With the EFC installed, the compressed air
consumption per day was reduced to 91,800 SCF.
146,880
SCF x .625 = 91,800 SCF
As a general rule of thumb, compressed air costs $0.25/1,000
SCF. By saving 55,080 SCF per day, this manufacturer was able to save $13.77 per day.
Since this was a 24 hour/day shift running 7 day/week, total savings for the
year came in at $5,012.28.
This easily recoups the costs of the EFC and then begins to pay you in less
than 6 months.
55,080
SCF x ($0.25/1,000 SCF) = $13.77
$13.77
x 7 days/week x 52 weeks/year = $5,012.28
The EFC models available from stock can accommodate flows up
to 350 SCFM. For applications requiring more compressed air, EFCs with dual
solenoids are also available. If you have an application in one or more of
your processes where intermittent compressed air use could help save you
money, give us a call (+351 932308640). We’d be
happy to take a look at the application and help determine just how quickly
the EFC could start paying YOU!
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