Product category:
Compressors and Air Treatment
News Release from: CompAir UK | Subject: LSR-Series
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 27 July 2004
Compressors pave the way for energy
savings
A major review of energy usage has led Marshalls to nominate compressor manufacturer CompAir as its preferred supplier.
A major review of energy usage has led Marshalls, the leading manufacturer of concrete, clay and natural stone landscape products, to nominate compressor manufacturer CompAir as its preferred supplier To date, the company has purchased new compressors for six of its 35 sites and is in the process of specifying systems for two further manufacturing units
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 24 Sep 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Purchasing Manager Jonathan Galvin explains why Marshalls undertook the review: "We carried out a series of energy audits some three years ago which confirmed that our compressed air systems were the biggest energy users across the whole of our operation".
"As a group, we were spending around GBP 3 million on electricity per annum and estimated that GBP 750,000 to GBP 1 million of that was for compressed air".
"As a responsible company, committed to energy efficiency and the environment we took the decision to employ experts to establish the most cost-effective energy efficient solution".
"Our aim was to save a minimum of 10% of the energy costs associated with the compressed air systems".
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A working party including purchasing, energy management and engineering specialists from within the group was created to oversee the review of a proposed tender and formulate a proposal to go forward to Marshalls central engineering for approval.
Says Galvin: "The review of the tender responses that we undertook was extremely thorough".
"The importance of sizing systems properly was fundamental - we knew that this wasn't simply a question of replacing old machines with like-for-like in terms of capacity".
"We had to have a proper understanding of exactly what machine configurations would meet our requirements and give us maximum operational efficiency".
"This also included ensuring that we detected and cured air leakage as much as possible".
"Therefore, rather than asking suppliers to tender for specific compressor sizes, we provided all potential suppliers with air demand profiles produced from data logging existing compressors and asked them to provide the overall most cost effective solution".
The group initially targeted three sites - Howley Park, near Leeds, Llay near Wrexham and Sawley, Nottingham - for the tender.
Says Galvin: "We went to all of the major manufacturers for their recommendations, concentrating on lifetime costs - the capital cost in this context is relatively insignificant".
"With CompAir, the SR technology and build quality spoke for itself, with the added benefit of being the most energy efficient solution and therefore it was the recommendation of the working party to nominate CompAir as our preferred partner for compressed air".
"Our engineers across the group were happy to go with that recommendation".
CompAir estimates that its LSR speed-regulated compressors can exceed the minimum 10% savings required by Marshalls.
In fact, it believes it can produce savings in excess of 25% in energy and operational costs by eliminating energy loss during periods of unloaded running and precisely matching power consumption with air demand.
With a typical oil lubricated rotary screw compressor operating at 70% load, energy costs can account for 82% of the cost of ownership, compared to 62% with an LSR.
Equally, maintenance and service for the LSR stands at 5% of the cost of ownership, as compared with 8% for fixed speed.
Each of the Marshalls sites uses compressed air for the pneumatic processes involved in the manufacture of concrete paving stones.
Although air demand is similar in all of them, each site differs in the way in which the systems are installed.
The preferred option is ring main, but there is a mix of both ring main and point of use compressors.
Each site, however, uses a combination of LSR and fixed speed compressors, with compressor sequence managed by a SmartAir control system.
Says Galvin: "In installing the new systems, we have to work with existing conditions on each site, but our aim in every case is to improve the systems as much as possible to reduce production downtime and achieve the energy savings we are looking for".
Since nominating CompAir as a preferred supplier, Marshalls' inventory of CompAir compressors stands at seven L75SRs, one L45SR, two C337-08As and one L37S-09A plus SmartAir controllers.
In total across the group Marshalls runs over a hundred compressors of various capacities.
Around 20 of those are previously installed CompAir fixed speed compressors.
Manufactured under an exclusive license from SR Drives, CompAir's LSR-Series uses a digitally controlled switched reluctance DC drive which eliminates the energy consumed by conventional compressors during periods of unloaded running.
In comparison, LRS technology produces savings in excess of 25% in energy and operational costs.
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