Compressed Air Best Practices - October 2008 - (Page 11) Focus Industry AUTOMOTIVE TRANSIT | 10/08 | Supply Side Audit The facility operates as an automotive assembly line with compressed air being required on a 24 hour, 7 day a week (8,760 hours) basis to feed various plant operations. The average electrical rate at this facility is $0.0259 per kWh with a demand charge of $7.08 per kVa per month. Based on these rates, the average blended power cost is $0.0356 per kWh. Data loggers were placed on the facility compressors for a number of weeks to determine the compressed air energy consumption and to help construct air usage profile. The logging and site observations found that the four existing air compressors were operating as three independent systems. The audit found that the total compressed air energy consumption, including air dryers, was 2,218,000 kWh per year while producing an average of 700 cfm. This calculates to an average system specific power of 36 kW/100 cfm. This benchmark showed that system efficiency was poor and that significant improvement potential existed. System 1 — Main System System 1 supplied the main plant air using one 200 hp modulating compressor (with capacity control) through a fixed cycle desiccant air dryer. A second 150 hp compressor running in modulation mode fed air to the plant during high demand periods. This smaller unit had an associated refrigerated air dryer. 11 http://www.mcintireco.com http://www.mcintireco.com
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