Annual Energy Savings In Excess Of $100,000

Optimizing energy usage for maximum efficiency is an essential objective for manufacturing plants in all industrial sectors.  The generation and distribution of compressed air throughout the facility is a large expense incurred in virtually all manufacturing processes.  Not only is the generation and treatment equipment expensive, but significant amounts of electricity is consumed and frequent maintenance is required.  As the plant compressed air system is often an integral part of the production process, it needs to be reliable, efficient, and easy to maintain.

Earlier this year, C.H. Reed partnered with a local container manufacturer who needed to replace a number of very old, unreliable reciprocating compressors along with older inefficient rotary screw compressors.  This plant also needed to greatly reduce maintenance and energy costs associated with the compressed air system. Production demands had to be met while the improvements were being made.

To meet the customer’s goals, C.H. Reed proposed the installation of two Quincy QSI Rotary Screw Air Compressors with Power$ync® variable displacement control.  After analyzing the plant’s demand profile, a variable displacement machine was determined to be as energy efficient as a variable speed drive unit while realizing lower life cycle costs.   A 3000 CFM water cooled Hankison Refrigerated Compressed Air Dryer was also recommended.  To simplify the installation process, Transair Aluminum Piping was used to replace the steel and copper air lines within the compressor room.  Transair is fast, flexible, reusable, and easy to modify leading to a prompt installation. Two Quincy Condensate / Oil Separators were installed to reduce the amount of contaminants in the waste water stream allowing for a safe, environmentally friendly, and inexpensive disposal.  The QSI 200 & 300 HP units featuring Quincy’s Power$ync® variable capacity control technology gives the compressors the ability to function at less than full capacity while maintaining excellent energy efficiency.  The Power$ync® control allows the two units to communicate with each other in real time while one operates as a base load compressor and the other as a trim compressor at the same target pressure for maximum efficiency without the need for a central controller.  This arrangement allows the compressor system to match the plant air requirements with minimum power at an annual energy savings in excess of $100,000 compared to the previous system.

Before: Four of the obsolete air compressors that needed to be replaced due to reliability issues, inefficiencies, and maintenance cost increases.

After: The 200 and 300 HP Quincy QSI Compressors that helped the customer save over $100,000 a year in energy costs.