Operational assessment of compressor systems supplying compressed air.

In manufacturing companies, the assessment of energy consumption and energy audits are conducted according to the specific characteristics of various areas of use.

One of these specific areas is the operational assessment of compressor systems supplying compressed air. The importance of this is underscored by the fact that these pieces of equipment account for 10-16% of the energy consumption of Hungarian industry, and up to 80% in some plants.

For any specific area, including compressor systems, an energy audit reveals that based on the assessment, we can not only easily influence harmful environmental impacts but often achieve immediate cost savings. This opportunity arises because most plants using compressed air handle this energy in a severely wasteful manner. According to calculations, even in Germany, a huge amount of energy, approximately 5 TWh annually, could be saved in compressed air production. In Hungarian industry, the wastefulness is even more dramatic proportionally. By understanding the physical principles of compression and applying modern technology, up to 80% of the energy spent on compressed air could be recovered.

The purpose and process of the audit involve determining the existing costs of the given energy form, identifying current usage methods and losses, exploring more cost-effective usage methods and procedures, and economically evaluating feasible solutions.

When conducting an energy audit of compressor systems, specific energy efficiency areas include load-dependent control of compressors, heat recovery, identification of air losses, modernization of condensate management, and analysis of quantity and pressure requirements.
The results achievable through an assessment can be illustrated by the example of a glass factory. Compressors and blowers producing compressed air accounted for 80% of the plant’s total energy consumption. As a result of the energy audit, low-cost measures with a payback period of less than a year successfully reduced the energy demand of the compressors by 28% while maintaining the same quality of service. This improved the company’s energy efficiency by 12% and its profit by 4% within one year, as energy constitutes a significant portion of production costs.