3 ways to implement a successful optimization strategy...Sullair (www .sullair .com) announced a communica-tions and monitoring sys-tem called Sullair AirLinx (see Figure 1) . Released

eHANDBOOK

Compressed air:3 ways to implement a

successful optimization strategy

TABLE OF CONTENTSNew and (actually) improved: Compressed air innovation in focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

New data collection and storage functions promise

to deliver smarter control and better efficiency

5 tips for tackling compressed air optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Here’s how to set yourself up for success with a compressed air optimization project

How to win at energy management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Sell people on it in terms they understand, and embed it into your operations

AD INDEXSullair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

www.plantservices.com

eHANDBOOK: Compressed Air 2

One of the notable highlights of this year’s Hannover Messe trade show in Han-

nover, Germany, was a focus on enhanced efficiency and reliability of com-

pressed air systems . Product improvements, including wireless and cellular

communications links, were showcased seemingly everywhere, from the most complicated

compressor controllers to lowly but important condensate drains . Particularly exciting de-

velopments were found in the control and monitoring of air compressors .

Compressor controls and sequencing controllers have been steadily advancing over the

years from simple relay logic to complicated microprocessor-based systems . These devices

typically operate on an internal design logic that will control compressors based on prepro-

grammed set points, with the control making a change to system operation based on one

or more parameters that might vary past a programmed limit . These controls have various

other functions to monitor and report faults in the system or to remind operators when

maintenance is due based on some internal timer function .

At Hannover, four companies featured noteworthy product developments . All four have de-

veloped or enhanced control, analysis, and communications tools that can help compressed

air users keep their system running reliably and at the highest efficiency .

New and (actually) improved: Compressed air innovation in focusNew data collection and storage functions promise to deliver smarter control and better efficiency

By Ron Marshall





Sullair (www .sullair .com)

announced a communica-

tions and monitoring sys-

tem called Sullair AirLinx

(see Figure 1) . Released

in conjunction with the

launch of the company’s

newly redesigned LS90-110

range of compressors, the

system provides a cel-

lular data link from each

compressor controller to

a cloud database . This link

allows remote monitoring

of key compressor param-

eters by computer, tablet,

or smartphone, and, if de-

sired, immediate reporting

of problems to key plant

personnel .

On-board the redesigned

compressors is a new Sullair

Touch Screen controller that

provides enhanced visual-

ization of all compressor

internal conditions and that

features a redesigned com-

pressor sequencer that can

efficiently control a group

of compressors with similar

controls . This controller is

smart enough to take con-

trol of onboard spiral-valve

variable-capacity controls (if

present), and in a system of

multiple compressors, it will

coordinate multiple spiral

valves to give VSD-like con-

trol on a single pressure set

point . This allows customers

with compressors located in

extreme environments that

would not allow the installa-

tion of VSD controls to have

excellent pressure regulation

and optimum compressed

air system efficiency .

Kaeser Compressors (www .

us .kaeser .com) had its

enhanced Sigma Air Man-

ager 4 .0 on display (see

Figure 2) . Operating within a

Kaeser Sigma Network, this

control system offers many

enhanced communications

and data analysis features .

The network connects all

site compressors together,

forming a high-speed data

FIGURE 1Sullair AirLinx display

So

urce

: Sul

lair

http://www.sullair.com

http://www.us.kaeser.com




highway within the plant

that provides optimum

control and monitoring of

connected compressors .

Designed with user inter-

ests in mind, the controller

is shipped preprogrammed

to the customer, and when

installed, it will “learn”

the characteristics of the

system, such as storage

volumes and compressor re-

sponse times . Based on this

information, the controller

will take things like pressure

rate of change, compres-

sor idle time, compressor

unloaded kW, and unit cycle

times and use this informa-

tion to make decisions about

how to control compressors

to provide optimum operat-

ing characteristics .

This provides not a fixed

pressure band as with tradi-

tional controllers but a flex-

ible band that works within

set user defined minimum

and maximum limits . The

network can be connected

to a Kaeser cloud server that

collects key system data al-

lowing compressed air users

to monitor their systems via

any smart internet con-

nected device . Alerts can

be automatically sent to

compressor operators and

service personnel if param-

eters cross preset limits .

Energair Solutions from

CMC (www .energair .com)

announced its new product,

called the Compressor Gate

(see Figure 3) . This stand-

alone product will initially

not control compressors

but is designed to work to

monitor any brand and type

of compressor to provide

affordable continuous

monitoring via broadband

cellular link of key compres-

sor parameters . The keys

to the system are 4G-linked

communications modules

that are installed within

each compressor as a retro-

fit . These modules capture

parameters like operating

status, temperatures, pres-

sures, and alarms and send

them to a database server .

The company also offers a

module that takes three-

phase power readings of

the compressor input – it’s

one of a few companies that

uses actual measurements

rather than calculated values

for monitoring purposes . As

with other vendors’ offer-

ings, the data resides in a

cloud database that can be

accessed from anywhere in

the world . Corporate energy

managers and key operat-

FIGURE 2Kaeser Compressors Sigma Air Manager 4 .0

Source: Kaeser Compressors

http://www.energair.com



ing personnel will be able to

query their connected sites

worldwide to track energy

performance, reliability, and

maintenance functions to

be able to keep their sys-

tems running smoothly . The

company also offers com-

pressor controllers and a line

of compressed air auditing

instruments called SCADAR

that offers cloud-based data

processing and automated

reporting to help company

energy auditors make sense

of the collected data .

Airleader (www .airleader .

us), a family-owned Ger-

man company, showcased

its Airleader master con-

trol and online monitoring

system (see Figure 4) . The

company has developed a

new touch-screen and wire-

less interface and adapted

it to an already highly

developed control system .

Always ahead of the curve,

Airleader has integrated

data collection and offered

cloud-based reporting as

a key part of their port-

folio for many years . The

controller system features

an in-plant interface that

connects to an Ethernet

system so the user can see

real-time performance of

their system via web page .

Also, a connection to a

cloud-based server, either

through a company fire-

wall or a broadband cel-

lular connection, allows the

collection and uploading

of key system data . This al-

lows for very useful analy-

sis and reporting of system

problems, pending mainte-

nance needs, and system

energy efficiency . This

control system is designed

to work with any make and

model of compressor and

will monitor other sys-

tem components like flow

meters, kW meters, and air

dryers . Interface to variable

capacity controllers such

FIGURE 3Energair Solutions Compressor Gate

So

urce

: Ene

rgai

r

http://www.airleader.us

http://www.airleader.us



as spiral valves, turn valves,

and poppet valves is also

possible . Airleader also of-

fers a device that can be in-

stalled on a compressed air

system to monitor system

operation and determine if

a compressor controller is

warranted . Data taken from

this device can be used, for

example, to find areas of

inefficiency, measure leaks,

and troubleshoot problems,

all functions the control

and monitoring system

does on a permanent basis .

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO THE USER?These new enhancements

will have a significant im-

pact on the compressed

air user . In compressed air

systems, like other systems,

measurement of impor-

tant parameters is key .

“Our motto is if you don’t

monitor it, you can’t man-

age it .” says Jan Hoetzel,

manager of SIGA Develop-

ment, the distributor of

Airleader compressed air

management systems in

North America . “That’s why

we provide a web server

with all of our systems that

makes the operation of

the compressed air system

transparent to user . Know-

ing how the system is oper-

ating opens the eyes of the

user to system inefficiency,

takes the uncertainty out of

future improvement proj-

ects, and makes manage-

Pre review

FIGURE 4Airleader master controller and online monitoring system

So

urce

: Air

lead

er



ment more willing to go the next step in

correcting their system operation .”

But simply monitoring a system is not

always the final answer . “A lot of custom-

ers monitor their systems but never look

at the data,” notes David Booth, system

specialist at Sullair . “We’ve found that a

quick scan of the system data by system

experts at about a dozen of our beta sites

showed really obvious problems, like VSDs

running in base load . One site saved about

$40,000 per year by simply readjusting

the parameters .”

Intelligently using the data can yield big

savings . “We installed a master controller

on five compressors, four FS and one VSD,

located in five different areas across an

agriculture implement plant,” explains Nico-

las De Deken, COO of Energair Solutions .

“While the master controller was perform-

ing as it should using fixed-speed compres-

sors only as base load (fully loaded) in com-

bination with the VSD trimming, permanent

monitoring of pressures in the different ar-

eas showed that due to inadequate piping,

the VSD had to run at 125 psi to maintain a

100 psi minimum pressure throughout the

plant .” He continues: “This analysis allowed

us to calculate the ROI of investing in better

piping, through a closed loop, and after the

new piping has been installed, the VSD is

now running at 105 psi, providing additional

energy savings .”

The data collected from such systems is

really useful to management, especially if

there is a corporate energy management

system in place . ISO 50001, for example,

might lead the company to designate the

compressed air system as a significant en-

ergy user (SEU) . Once an SEU is identified,

the company managers must then imple-

ment an energy tracking strategy . This is

where having a compressed air monitoring

system becomes important .

“One of our customers was being encour-

aged to purchase a new compressor to

solve a shortage of compressed air,” says

Jan Hoetzel, “but since data was available

from our monitoring system, the company

controller in the finance department got in-

terested in the plant leakage flow numbers .”

Hoetzel continues: “Through his efforts and

his ongoing pressure to reduce this waste

and implement other system improvements,

the company was able to reduce their flow

from 3,500 cfm to 2,300 cfm and optimize

compressor control, saving them about half

a million dollars in operating costs .”

These are quite impressive results . Hoetzel

tells of another third-party-verified instal-

lation that saved 84% thanks to the more-

efficient control of the system compres-

sors . Having system data available after the

compressor control system was installed

helped save an additional 71% of the re-

mainder once the system’s operation could

be permanently monitored .



“System monitoring is very important,” says

Jarno Manzke, technical director at Kaeser

Compressors . “A wire manufacturer allowed

us to monitor their compressor, and the re-

sulting project saved $45,000 per year . The

compressor monitoring system that was

installed helped verify the results because it

collected all the necessary information .”

Monitoring of the data can be extremely

effective in improving systems and keeping

efficiency as high as possible, but data col-

lection and storage provides other opportu-

nities, too, not only in verification of savings

but also with respect to system reliability

and predictive maintenance .

“We are collecting a large amount of data

about every connected compressor,” Man-

zke says . “This allows our company to do

some data mining that will help us, for

example, predict future compressor air end

failures before they happen . Use of the data

will allow us to recognize changing condi-

tions inside our compressors and notify ser-

vice personnel and compressor operators

well before major damage to the compres-

sor takes place .”

All of the companies interviewed indi-

cated they were planning to use database

information to further enhance system

monitoring’s benefits for their custom-

ers . Added Manzke: “We’ve developed a

system that tirelessly monitors the data,

and once programmed with special al-

gorithms, can flag many reliability- and

maintenance-related issues for our system

experts to review . And our control system

currently works like a chess computer,

looking ahead and simulating possible

better compressed air system operation .

If system monitoring identifies improve-

ments that can be made, then our per-

sonnel will better be able to contact our

customers with a solution .”

Before retiring in 2016, Ron Marshall was the industrial compressed air

systems expert at Manitoba Hydro, where he worked for 38 years . His ef-

forts supported the organization’s Power Smart Performance Optimization

Program, and he now operates his own compressed air energy efficiency

consulting firm and is a member of the project development committee at

the Compressed Air Challenge .

Reliabilityis everything

It doesn’t quit.It doesn’t even think about quitting. In fact, it doesn’t think of anything but the job at hand.

Sound familiar?Our compressors are a lot like the people who use them.

Discover the complete line of Sullair stationary air compressors, featuring the legendary Sullair air end.

To learn more about our complete line, including air treatment products, contact your local distributor or visit our website.

Gerald “Gerry” Bauer President, EccoFab - Rockford, IL

Sullair.com/GerrysStory

High-Pressure Gas End

013956_Sullair_US Plant Services eBook Ad_7x10.indd 1 9/26/17 2:22 PM

http://www.sullair.com

Chances are, your compressed air system is the lifeblood of your production line .

And although compressed air is vital to production, compressed air optimization

projects tend to be myopic, failing to take into account how each piece contrib-

utes to plant processes .

A successful optimization project, by contrast, will allow time for analysis of the current state

of the entire system . It will rely on a holistic approach to help personnel understand how

individual components work together and impact overall efficiency . It will take into account

leakage, maintenance, pressure control and energy use and will result in creating a custom-

ized plan to move forward . In short, it will depend on looking before you leap .

A successful compressed air optimization project requires some careful planning and strat-

egy . Here are five tips for approaching one .

TIP 1: CONDUCT A SYSTEM ASSESSMENTBefore you start on the path of optimization, you need a reliable road map to guide your ac-

tions . Beginning with a thorough system assessment will help prevent missteps later on . A

system assessment (also sometimes referred to as a compressed air audit) will establish your

plant’s demand profile . A demand profile can help you understand how much compressed air

you are using, how much extra capacity you have, and also how plant demand changes over

5 tips for tackling compressed air optimizationHere’s how to set yourself up for success with a compressed air optimization project

By Neil Mehltretter, Kaeser Compressors



different shifts and days of

the week .

Many optimization projects

begin with the assumption

that more capacity is need-

ed . This is sometimes true,

but it’s quite often the case

that purchasing additional

equipment would be waste-

ful . However, this is some-

thing that can be confirmed

only by taking careful mea-

surements over a period of

time and then analyzing the

data . Here’s one example

(Figure 1):

This chart shows an ac-

tual demand profile from a

manufacturing plant . The

plant wanted to purchase

additional compressors to

address downtime and pres-

sure fluctuation problems .

It conducted an assessment

to help determine the size

and number of compressors

needed . The actual findings,

however, revealed that the

plant was using only half of

its available capacity and

that leaks accounted for

45% of plant demand . In this

case, the plant saved a con-

siderable amount of money

on energy, maintenance, and

capital costs by address-

ing system issues instead of

buying more compressors .

As illustrated in this chart,

an assessment can also

identify nonproductive

loads, such as leaks . Al-



FIGURE 1A compressed air system assessment can identify production demand, total capacity, available capacity, and nonproductive loads .

though it will not show the amount and

location of each individual leak (this is

something that can only be done with a

leak detection audit), it can give an over-

view of the amount of air you are wasting

to leaks . If you know that your plant has a

high leak load, you may want to conduct

a leak detection audit to identify the leaks

and fix them prior to conducting the com-

pressed air assessment, as this will give

you a much more accurate demand profile .

Further, fixing leaks provides immediate

savings – something that can go a long

way in persuading upper management to

proceed with additional energy-efficiency

initiatives . A single quarter-inch leak for a

system running at 110 psig, 8,760 hours a

year, and $0 .10/kWh costs $17,818 annually .

And that’s just one leak . Think of how many

you probably have in your system – the sav-

ings potential is huge .

TIP 2: GET BUY-INHaving the best plan of action for your

energy-efficiency improvements means

absolutely nothing if you don’t have the sup-

port from key decision-makers to implement

the changes . Unless you control all of the

resources necessary to source, select, pur-

chase, and install new equipment or make

changes to existing equipment, you need to

begin your optimization project by getting

buy-in from those who do . Getting buy-in

from the start will pave your optimization

project with more than just good intentions .

This is how many projects get derailed

before they begin . Plants may conduct an

assessment or have a consultant make rec-

ommendations for improvements, but when

it comes time to put those recommendations

into practice, they never follow through . The

report is emailed for review, lost in the black

hole of inboxes, and ultimately forgotten (or

ignored) . If, however, you begin by getting

everyone on board with the optimization

project and you work together to set spe-

cific, realistic goals, your project will have a

much better chance of success .

The compressed air assessment will provide

you with cold, hard truths about your system

and will explain the system in terms upper

management understands: cold, hard cash .

The assessment will provide energy saving

recommendations and different options for

obtaining different levels of savings . Use the

language of dollar signs to communicate with

management, and don’t forget to include cost

savings for maintenance and downtime .

This is especially important if you are look-

ing at replacing aging equipment and

your production demands cannot tolerate

downtime . Often, the cost of downtime for

compressed air equipment can exceed the

cost of a backup compressor . Plus, the extra

savings resulting from using your compres-

sor as a heat source either for space heating

or process water heating can far exceed any

energy-efficiency savings potential .



TIP 3: FIX THE LEAKSWe’ve already mentioned

the cost of leaks, but it bears

repeating: Failing to fix the

leaks in your system is leav-

ing money – potentially a

lot of it – on the table . The

U .S . Energy Department

estimates that as much as

half of all compressed air

generated is wasted, with

around 25% going to leaks .

And that is a conservative

estimate;we’ve seen plants

with leak loads as high as

50% .

Because fixing leaks pro-

vides immediate savings and

leaks are an ongoing con-

cern for every compressed

air system, consider adding

a leak-detection program

as part of your optimization

project . A comprehensive

leak-detection program will

consist of annual leak detec-

tion and a specific plan for

tagging leaks and repairing

them based on their size .

Education is also key to a

leak-detection program’s

success . Empowering

employees to be vigilant in

monitoring piping, hoses,

and quick-release fittings

will pay dividends when it

comes to leak detection .

That single quarter-inch

leak costing $17,818 annu-

ally, could be a ball valve

cracked open on a receiver,

rather than installing a no-

loss air drain, which typi-

cally costs less than $1,000 .

That’s a great return on

investment!

TIP 4: THINK LONG-TERMWhen it’s finally time to

implement changes to your

existing system based on

the assessment results, it’s

important to think longterm .

Avoid the temptation to

simply grab existing equip-

ment from other plants or to

use something that you can

get for a deal at an auction .

Think longterm and make

sure you select the right

equipment for the right rea-

sons . This may mean more

than taking any old com-

pressor that can produce

the required amount of flow

to meet the demand stated

in the assessment charts .

There are other factors to

take into account . Consider,

for example, the compres-

sor’s communications capa-

bilities . With the advances

in technology and the emer-

gence of the IIoT, now more

than ever it’s important to



FIGURE 2A leak detection program to find and fix leaks can add ongoing savings opportunities .



understand how purchasing

decisions today will impact

the plant five and 10 years

down the road . Take a look

at how the compressor can

communicate with the plant

and with a system master

controller . Without a sys-

tem master controller, you

won’t be able to achieve

maximum efficiency as the

compressors will run inde-

pendently (causing multiple

units to cycle unnecessarily)

and typically operate the

system at a higher pressure

than required . In addition,

system master controllers

offer robust remote moni-

toring, energy monitoring,

and predictive maintenance

capabilities . Having equip-

ment that easily connects to

these controllers will save a

lot of headaches as plants

move toward the realiza-

tion of the “smart factory”

concept .

Secondly, part of thinking

longterm is understanding

the cause-and-effect rela-

tionship of your system’s

issues . Don’t focus only

on the problem in front of

you: There may be under-

lying issues in need of a fix .

Once these are addressed,

you could end up saving a

lot of money over a num-

ber of years .

Low pressure is a common

compressed air problem,

and many plants respond by

increasing system operating

pressure or adding com-

pressors . If, however, the

pressure at the point where

the air leaves the last air

treatment component or the

storage receiver is greater

than 5 psig above the real

requirement of the point-of-

use equipment, the actual

problem is probably with

the distribution system . The

piping could be undersized;

it could be leaking; or poor

connection practices could

be in place .

Keep in mind that every

2-psig increase in system

pressure costs an extra 1%

in compressor efficiency .

Cranking up the system pres-

sure may be a quick fix, but

it will cost you a lot more in

the long run than addressing

the actual problem with the

piping would .

TIP 5: CONFIRM THE CHANGES ARE WORKINGAfter you’ve implemented

the changes based on the

FIGURE 3Don’t neglect piping with an optimization project .



assessment findings, check to make sure

they are as effective as anticipated . This

can be done with a follow-up assessment .

Depending on the system size, it’s good

practice to conduct an assessment annually

given that demand can change over time .

Another option would be to utilize the

equipment’s built-in energy monitoring

capabilities . Some compressors can save

performance data for later download and

analysis . Better still, advanced system mas-

ter controllers can record data for the entire

system – pressure, flow, temperature, and

energy – analyze it, and generate reports on

demand . This is an invaluable tool for proac-

tive energy management and also for com-

pliance with ISO 50001 energy management

standards .

Whatever route you take, be deliberate

about confirming the changes’ effectiveness

and about monitoring system energy con-

sumption on a regular basis .

This is an exciting time in manufacturing

as plants move to improve processes and

embrace new technology to improve their

business . Using compressed air assessments

as a tool to understand your system and to

explain system performance to upper man-

agement can mean the difference between

a fully realized optimized project and a

dead end .

Neil Mehltretter is engineering manager for Kaeser Compressors (www .

us .kaeser .com). He manages design and engineering services for Kaeser,

including energy improvements and compressed air selection. Contact

him at: neil .mehltretter@kaeser .com.



mailto:neil.mehltretter%40kaeser.com?subject=

Joe Ghislain is retiring in October as senior manager and

North American regional manager for lean supplier opti-

mization at Ford Motor Co . In his 31 years at Ford, Ghislain

has managed energy efficiency programs worldwide . He current-

ly chairs two committees for the not-for-profit Compressed Air

Challenge and is the end-user representative on the training and

education collaborative’s board of directors . (In September, CAC

is launching an end-user training program; learn more at www .compressedairchallenge .org .)

Ghislain talked to Plant Services about selling your plant on the value of energy management .

PS: At a Kaeser Compressors Pressure & Profit event this spring, you said that no one ever

got fired for using too much energy. Given that, how can energy managers “sell” plant-

floor personnel and upper management on the value of using compressed air more effi-

ciently and keeping compressed air systems well-maintained?

JG: I reiterate to energy managers that I know how they feel, because production’s the main

thing . That pays the bills . Everybody needs to be in line with that understanding . When

somebody has to take production down because an air compressor goes down, you get all

kinds of attention .

How to win at energy managementSell people on it in terms they understand, and embed it into your operations

By Joe Ghislain



http://www.compressedairchallenge.org



When I say things like, “Nobody ever got

fired for using too much energy,” it’s just to

indicate that you need to do (energy man-

agement), but you also need to recognize as

an energy manager that there are also plant

priorities that need to be taken into consid-

eration . When you go through and satisfy

all of those and reduce energy at the same

time, that’s a win-win for the company .

I firmly believe nobody goes into work to

do a bad job or to do something that’s not

right . When you talk about technicians and

the maintenance people, uptime and avail-

ability and air quality are going to be a big

deal for them, because you can’t let produc-

tion go down . Having (them) understand

what the costs (of wasted compressed air)

are and how much actually is used when

they’re blowing off dust and using it inap-

propriately is an important part .

It’s valuable to go through and relate to

them the costs in terms they understand .

Ford has monitors in all of the campus

break rooms, and I’d put up slides that

were meant to be thought-provoking . One

of them I remember using was, if (our) air

leaks were water, we’d full the plant halfway

up in a day-and-a-half . I got comments back

from people going, “Gosh!”

Plant leadership, they’re going to know dol-

lars and cents . . . . They know cost, quality,

and safety . Compressed air systems touch

all of those .

A PM program, if you do it right, can make

a huge difference . When I took over (Ford

Motor Co .’s) Chicago stamping (plant)

powerhouse, they hadn’t done a lot of

compressed air system maintenance, and

we were running a lot of downtime – like

108, 109 hours of downtime a year . And

that would take out production, and that’s

a lot . So I put in a PM system and rebuilt

the whole thing . We spent some money,

but when I left, we had only one 30-minute

Having (them) understand what the costs (of

wasted compressed air) are and how much actually

is used when they’re blowing off dust and using it

inappropriately is an important part .



downtime interruption in the year . I remem-

ber having the plant engineering manager

tell me, “I’m spending all my damn budget

in your maintenance and your powerhouse!”

And I said, “Well, you can look at it that

way, or we can shut the plant down and use

rental compressors and spend three times

as much .”

PS: You also said that to achieve lasting en-

ergy efficiency, you need to make it part of

what you do. What does that look like?

JG: That can take many different forms .

With a lot of energy management and en-

ergy monitoring programs, we look at them

as projects . We go through something;

we fix something; and then we move on .

But energy- whether you talk about com-

pressed air or really any type of energy, it’s

really an ongoing process, and it needs to

be maintained and managed . And so wheth-

er it’s part of ISO50001 or part of ISO14000

or you embed it into your lean manufactur-

ing process, the real key is going through

and making it part of your standard operat-

ing procedure . At Ford, it’s built in as part

of our Ford Production System . We have

an Energy Management Operating System

which are the rules and guidelines we have

for doing energy management in our facili-

ties . The plant managers, when they get

their performance reviews, it’s built into it .

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the

Compressed Air Challenge is excited to

announce the launch of a new logo and

website that reflects the three driving

factors that underline its mission: training,

education, and efficiency .

In the coming months, the CAC will release

several updated and new products to assist

in advancing the mission and vision of the

organization, including:

• a fully updated version of the

Fundamentals of Compressed Air

Systems (L1) training material that will

now have the SI units for calculations –

making our popular training even more

suitable for the global market;

• an update to the Advanced Management

of Compressed Air Systems (L2) training

material with new cases studies and

expanded sections on centrifugals and

variable speed drive compressors; and

• a new one-hour awareness training

program, “Compressed Air: It’s Not

Free,” developed with the flexibility to

be customized to the specifications of

individual operations .

http://www.compressedairchallenge.org/



PS: Where do good intentions fall flat

when it comes to energy management?

Where does the ball get dropped?

JG: That’s a good question . Part of where

I’ve seen the ball drop is where it becomes

personality-dependent as opposed to

operational-dependent . You have a real

enthusiastic plant manager or hourly team

member or an energy manager who will go

through and push and do things, and then

they get promoted or go on to someplace

else and then it just kind of falls off the

pace, or other priorities hit . That’s a big one,

because if you’re launching a new product

or you’ve got all this other stuff to be done,

the energy kind of becomes a secondary

thing and falls by the wayside .

It needs to be embedded in the way you

do business and it needs to be embedded

in things like purchasing new equipment

and making sure you have it as part of

your specs . That’s the other big one, be-

cause you’ll have a situation where some-

one’s trying to reduce the cost to put it

in to begin with because they have to hit

budget . A lot of the times the things that

get taken out are the controls and things

that can make you more energy-efficient

to begin with . If you do that, you really

lose it, because once it’s bought and put

in place, now you’re managing it at a less-

efficient level .



Sullair Introduces New LS Series Air Compressors

Featuring a new, patent-pending air end, the LS Series is the most

energy-efficient single stage compressor Sullair has offered . Electronic

Spiral Valve Technology provides a very efficient energy-savings capacity

control process, while the 10" Sullair Touch Screen Controller puts all

compressor operational parameters as close as the touch of a finger .

Sullair AirLinx® enables real-time remote monitoring of all compressor

operations from any internet connected device . Available in horsepower

ranges from 125-150 hp (90 to 110 kW), the LS 90-110 compressors

provides air pressures from 110 to 175 psi (7 .6 to 12 bar) .

Visit: http://america .sullair .com/products/new-sullair-ls-series .

Learn More:

https://www .youtube .com/watch?v=Mjo6Rb1WJiU

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

http://america.sullair.com/products/new-sullair-ls-series

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjo6Rb1WJiU

http://america.sullair.com/

Documents

3 ways to implement a successful optimization strategy...Sullair (www .sullair .com) announced a communica-tions and monitoring sys-tem called Sullair AirLinx (see Figure 1) . Released