Energy Saving through machine efficiency

With energy saving and reduction of our carbon footprint at the top of the Government’s agenda many companies are now looking at how they can make improvements now to avoid large bills as legislation changes over the next few years. There are two main areas that manufacturing industry can focus on to reduce their energy bills. Lighting and heating of the building, and the energy used in production processes.

Gazprom Energy have recently carried out a survey of the largest contributors to energy wastage in manufacturing industry. They conclude that “an idling compressor can still use 40% and up to 70% of its full load. Compressed air leakages can also make a big impact on wastage, so be sure to perform regular leak tests on the distribution pipework affected by compressed air. Label and repair leaks found as quickly as you can”. The Carbon Trust have come to similar conclusions, outlining energy cost saving ideas for manufacturing companies across all industry sectors and listing compressed air systems as one of the key areas for low-cost reduction measures and investment opportunities.

When looking to reduce energy used in production the first thing to look at is where inefficiencies lie. The ideal way of achieving a benchmark to plan improvements is a Harrier Pneumatics air audit. This will review both the supply and demand sides of your compressed air system. From the knowledge gained in this process you can determine which sections of the system need replacement, which may be operating at less than their best and what other steps can be taken to optimise your compressed air system.

Planned maintenance cycles for all components can extend lifespan as well as maximising performance.  Showing savings in energy consumption improves the company carbon footprint as well as translating into an increase in profitability. Planned maintenance also highlights issues before they become problems enabling fixes to be put in place that avoid production downtime.  Breakdown prevention is always the best option and maintain, upgrading and replacing compressors, vacuum pumps and  their related components and pipe work as it becomes necessary will often save more money than is spent.

Harrier’s compressor engineering team are highly skilled, fully trained and experienced in providing well planned and comprehensive servicing and maintenance cover for most compressor makes and models, as well as all ancillary equipment for the preparation and treatment of your compressed air, your pneumatic equipment and components and the air pipework systems. We can tailor planned maintenance to suit your budget and production requirements. The best way to establish what we can do to help save energy and reduce costs is to book an air audit and leak detection survey. Get in touch to arrange for one of our engineers to call.

Categorised in: compressor sales, compressor services, Compressors, Maintenance

This post was written by Harrier Pneumatics