Compressed air systems are very common in industrial settings. By storing pressurized air, these systems can be used on demand and in a controlled way to power a wide variety of machines, devices, and pneumatic tools. Despite their versatility and many other advantages, compressed air systems require a significant amount of energy to operate. In fact, 10 per cent of most industrial energy costs are related to the energy inputs required for these systems. That’s why it’s crucial to ensure yours is working at peak efficiency.
Optimizing your system is a worthwhile investment. Doing so can reduce energy consumption by an average of 30%. In some instances, reductions upward of 85% can be achieved!
In this article, we’ll share the benefits of improving your compressed air system, the ways in which Efficiency Manitoba can help you improve your system, and how one Manitoba facility is saving big with Efficiency Manitoba’s programs and incentives.
Efficiency Manitoba’s programs for compressed air
Efficiency Manitoba has the expertise and incentives you need to make the process of improving your compressed air system simpler and more affordable. They take a collaborative approach with you, your contractor, and other vendors to identify the best solutions and energy efficiency approaches for your unique operations. Plus, their technical experts assist from the beginning of your project all the way to completion, from estimating potential energy savings and calculating incentives to completing application forms.
Efficiency Manitoba has two offers that can help you with your compressed air system:
Benchmark studies
As a free service, Efficiency Manitoba will perform a benchmark study of your compressed air system to identify energy-saving opportunities. They work with pre-qualified compressed air specialists who will visit your facility and perform a baseline logging of your system. Efficiency Manitoba’s technical experts will analyze the collected data and provide you with a report that has valuable information about your system; this will help you identify the appropriate size of your replacement units as well as other areas for improvement. Then, they’ll work with you to identify energy efficiency upgrades to your compressed air system that can qualify for incentives through their Custom Energy Solutions Program.
Custom Energy Solutions Program
Once you’re ready to upgrade your compressed air system, Efficiency Manitoba’s Custom Energy Solutions Program will provide you with incentives to make the upgrade more affordable and lower your monthly energy bills for years into the future. They’ll consider all technologies that save electricity or natural gas, including compressed air system upgrades. The incentives are based on energy performance, so the more energy your upgrade saves, the higher the incentive you’ll receive!
Leaky business?
Here’s a surprising statistic: leaks can represent 30% of compressed air loads when not managed properly. They can also be easy to miss in noisy industrial environments, and pinpointing the source of the leak is often a challenging task. At the same time, neglecting a leaky system can cause issues for you and your facility, such as reduced system capacity and production, unnecessary energy consumption, lower system pressure, and a reduced lifespan of your equipment.
The good news is that there are professionals who can help: both with detecting leaks and repairing them to ensure your system is operating as efficiently as possible. A comprehensive assessment of your compressed air system will let you know if it has any leaks and provide you with quantitative data regarding the potential energy savings associated with repairing them.
Once any leaks have been pinpointed, you’ll want to remediate the issues and improve your compressed air system. There are plenty of measurable benefits to doing this:
- You’ll enjoy lower energy costs.
- Your system will be more reliable, leading to fewer production outages and less downtime. This will make your operations even more productive, which is good for your bottom line.
- You’ll see improved air pressure and reduced moisture in your air lines, allowing your system to run more efficiently.
- Identifying and eliminating these leaks will reduce your energy consumption and costs — and Efficiency Manitoba can help.
Project feature: Maple Leaf Foods
Maple Leaf Foods, a food products manufacturer located in Brandon, had an aging compressor that was consuming significant amounts of energy and impacting their operations. Rather than shouldering the resourcing and financial burden on their own to address the issue, they reached out to Efficiency Manitoba for help.
“Efficiency Manitoba responded to our request in a timely manner and gave us lots of great information on how to move forward,” says Tyler Henry, the Maintenance General Supervisor at Maple Leaf Foods. “They immediately made us feel confident that we were in good hands.”
The project
First, Maple Leaf Foods conducted a benchmark study of their compressed air system, which identified numerous energy-saving improvements. Based on the results of the study, they elected to upgrade their aging compressor to improve their energy efficiency.
Upon reviewing the original design of the replacement system, Efficiency Manitoba’s technical experts identified a problem known as “control gap.” The system couldn’t match supply to demand, causing energy inefficiencies and increased wear on the compressors. Efficiency Manitoba’s modelling helped illustrate and quantify the financial impact of this problem.
Maple Leaf Foods implemented the recommended solution. The upgrade involved purchasing a new 300-horsepower variable speed compressor, three new 250-horsepower fixed speed compressors, a new heated blower desiccant dryer, and a central system controller.
During the verification process, Efficiency Manitoba’s analysis identified control issues with the system. The supplier worked with Maple Leaf Foods to find the source of the control issues and corrected the problem. This correction saved nearly 200,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) alone, which aligned the system performance with the original estimates.
The savings
With a more efficient compressed air system now in place, Maple Leaf Foods is enjoying several benefits. First, they received more than $256,000 in incentives through the Custom Energy Solutions Program. “The incentive amount Efficiency Manitoba calculated for us made it easy to decide to move forward with the upgrade,” Tyler told us.
The savings don’t end with incentives, though. Maple Leaf Foods is estimated to reduce their electricity consumption by over 1.7 million kWh every year, resulting in saving nearly $99,000 annually on their energy bills. This doesn’t even include additional benefits like energy bill tax savings, lower maintenance costs, and improved reliability. A simple payback calculation shows that the project will essentially pay for itself in 2.6 years.
“Working with Efficiency Manitoba made so much sense, from both a financial perspective and a long-term operations perspective,” Tyler says. “We’re seeing the real impact of this decision on our energy bills and our everyday work. It’s made a world of difference, for the better, in how we operate our business.”
Start saving energy today
Efficiency Manitoba is eager to work with you to explore energy efficiency solutions for your industrial facility. Whether you’re looking at starting with a benchmark study to identify opportunities to save, or are ready to start your energy efficiency upgrade, they can help with financial incentives and technical expertise. Get started by emailing customsolutions@efficiencyMB.ca, indicating that you’re interested in improving your compressed air system. Efficiency Manitoba will contact you to see if you qualify and start coordinating your project.
To learn more about their offers for energy-efficient industrial technologies and systems, visit efficiencyMB.ca/industrial.
