By Jeff Careless, Business Development Manager – Continuous Improvement, SMC UK
In an era where manufacturing and process plants are under increasing pressure from soaring energy bills and ever-tightening CO2 emissions legislation, it begs the question: is there a way to reduce my energy consumption quickly without compromising efficiency or output? The short answer is yes, with the right advice and expertise.
Energy and carbon footprint have long-proved a hot topic for users of compressed air as it represents as much as 20% of all factory power consumption. Here, based on our experience, we set out five ways that deliver fast and effective energy reductions.
Relieve the pressure
The first way is to reduce the pressure of your compressed air system where possible. For most industrial plants, typical operating pressure is between 6 and 7 bar. By lowering your pressure to 4 bar, energy consumption reduces by up to 29%. However, expert input is required to avoid compromising performance.
Plug leaks
We’ve encountered plants suffering from 20-50% leakage rates, driving up energy consumption and bills. The optimal way to identify leaks is by appointing an expert company to undertake an audit, ideally twice a year. However, for those seeking a quicker route to improvements, shut-off solenoid valves prevent air losses to leaks even when machines are idle. Other solutions include a two-pressure module which switches to a lower pressure during machine idle periods, vastly reducing leakage, or the new plug and play SMC Air Management System, for example.
