Background
Driven by carbon and energy targets, energy retrofits in building materials are moving from kilns and mills to auxiliary systems such as compressed air. Compressed air is often called the factory's fourth utility and takes a sizeable share of many plants' power bills — and the idle running of old fixed-speed compressors is the easiest waste to overlook.
Challenge
The plant ran several old fixed-speed compressors. Demand swung with production shifts, so at low demand the units kept unloading and idling, keeping power use high, and the compressor room was noisy for nearby work.
Solution
Some fixed-speed units were replaced by KayDrill DMT permanent-magnet variable-speed units that follow actual demand steplessly. Multi-layer acoustic canopies and isolation mounts cut room noise, and a dedicated controller monitors pressure and protects against over-pressure, over-temperature and phase faults.
Results
Unloaded running at low load was almost eliminated, network pressure became steadier and the compressor room much quieter. Power use of the air system dropped noticeably — similar retrofits typically save around 20%.
