Guaranteed savings from compressed air management

Energair Solutions has made an unprecedented move in the compressed air market by guaranteeing the energy savings delivered by the company's compressed air management systems.

Energair Solutions has made an unprecedented move in the compressed air market by guaranteeing the energy savings delivered by the company's compressed air management systems.

Industrial sites with even modest consumption can expect to save thousands of pounds, rising to tens of thousands for high volume, multiple compressor installations.

Kevin Course, Energair UK Sales Manager, comments on the move: "Early indications suggest a strong take-up for our offer to guarantee energy savings from compressed air installations.

This is no surprise when you consider how much government pressure is being brought to bear on UK industry to improve energy efficiency and that compressed air generation represents 10% of all industrial electrical consumption.

Businesses tend to recognise the importance of proactive plant management now, particularly as the responsibility for controlling and minimising costs is carried company wide.

There is scope for improvement in most installations, even relatively new ones".

Energair has the information to support its assertions, having installed compressed air management systems in over 1000 companies, ranging from major car manufacturers and pharmaceutical giants to small local enterprises.

Initially, systems are individually assessed for potential.

Where justification allows, a report on the projected energy savings is produced prior to any equipment being installed.

The systems are monitored prior to any installation work to establish a benchmark and then continually monitored afterwards to prove the net value.

Precise monitoring equipment has also been installed for many customers as part of their existing compressed air management package, allowing them to continually track performance and report on its success internally.

Before the company went public with a commitment to guarantee energy savings, a broad sample of these performance data was taken and analysed by Energair in order to compare projected figures with actual cost savings in a range of installations.

Kevin Course explains the results: "The figures for potential and achieved savings were so close that we had no hesitation in providing a cast-iron guarantee to our customers for the energy savings they will achieve.

There is no risk involved for companies having an Energair system installed; if it does not perform, we will not charge for it.

The end user is not committed to any contractual period and the cost can be simply funded by a proportion of the savings made from the electrical energy budget.

Alternatively it can be purchased with guaranteed payback periods.

Companies can effectively start saving in a matter of days".

An Energair compressed air management system reduces compressor energy consumption by closely matching system pressure to demand and reducing off-load running or idling of compressors.

The control is implemented in a number of ways depending on the installation.

An 'Enercon' management system controller for example will ensure that all the compressors on any one ring main, regardless of their make, type or capacity, operate cohesively and more importantly, efficiently.

Effective downstream system monitoring is also an essential part of the package.

Sensors are fitted at relevant points throughout a system and the recorded data is presented by Energair's Enersoft air management software.

Enersoft displays live information on equipment status and system pressure, while providing accurate metering of power consumption in kilowatt-hours, air production volume in cubic metres and efficiency in kilowatts per cubic metre.

Enersoft can also be used to produce regular performance reports for internal appraisal; the function is a built-in feature of the software and is extremely easy to use.

An added advantage of the monitoring equipment is that it has a series of alert systems built into it; these can be set up to trigger multilayer responses both locally and remotely including screen warnings and audible signals.

Provided with a permanent mobile or landline phone connection, the 'alert' system can also be programmed to call, fax and text message maintenance personnel and maintenance service providers with pre-emptive warnings of problems, emergencies and routine maintenance checks.

Companies can contact Energair for a free preliminary site survey and receive an estimate on the amount of energy that can be saved; should it prove that there is potential for saving energy then Energair will guarantee and demonstrate those savings.

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