Premier Control Technologies Flow, pressure, level and temperature solutions
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
This article follows on from our previous CS instruments article which looks at the unknown costs of your air compressor.
Today we will be focusing on how CS instruments leak detection instruments can help towards your ISO 50001 accreditation and overall energy reduction.
ISO 50001 is the management system standard which is set out for organisations committed to addressing their impact, conserving resources and improving profitability through an energy management system (EnMS).
ISO 50001 provides the framework for organisations to develop a policy for more efficient use of energy, fix targets and objectives to meet the policy and use data to better understand and make decisions around energy usage.
Part of the process will set out how to measure the results as well as regularly reviewing how well the policy is working and ways in which energy management throughout the organisation can be continually improved.
Throughout ISO 50001 the PDCA cycle is referenced, this cycle may also be applied to the compressed air system. An example of the cycle is set out below:
The PDCA Cycle
During the initial energy planninng phase (P) a detailed survey of the organistation has to be carried out in order to determine which areas the organisation must focus on for the increase in energy efficiency to meet their targets.
During the do (D) phase of the EnMS the action plan is created and the measures are clearly set out. Projects will be created to allow the plan to be carried out, this may result in additional instruments, equipment or systems being put into place.
The checking (C) phase of the plan will see the organisation asses its plan through the various projects setup. Energy usage will be measured.
During the final phase (A) the focus is on the effective operation of the EnMS and the commitment to the continual improvement of the system. Processes are monitored and internal audits give insights to necessary corrections and improvements before the cycle begins again.
When the PDCA cycle is applied to a compressed air sytem and where CS Instruments may feature we can focus on the following:
CS Instruments LD 500 / LD 510 leak detectors can be used to identify leaking compressed air pipework on site. Furthermore multiple locations can be logged and tagged on the leak detector itself including a photograph of the leaking pipe work and location.
When all leaks have been identified with the leak detector, the data can be uploaded into CS instruments own CS Leak Reporter software. The software then allows for leakage report(s) to be created which can be integrated into a ISO 50001 system. An example of the report maybe found here:
To determine an exact amount for the leakage rate when beginning the PDCA process during the planning phase a mobile PI 500 portable flow meter maybe used in conjunction with a VA 500 volumetric flow meter for example. When measurements are taken at a production standstill point the leakage or compressed air loss maybe measured. Leakage rates or compressed air consumptoin data can be quickly and easily viewed within the CS Basic evaluation software.
If the total leakage rate is known then it can be used to calculate the annual saving potential in energy costs. For this purpose the compressed air costs and the operating time of the compressed air system are required, in addition to the energy cost calculation.
The annual fixed costs of the compressed air system are defined as:
Variable costs of a compressed air system are defined as:
Calculation for leakage cost
If the annual delivery capacity [m³] of the compressor system is divided by the total costs in GBP, the costs per cubic metre of air produced are obtained.
The production of a standard cubic meter of compressed air costs, depending on the system, approximately £1.5 / Nm³ to £3/Nm³.
Savings potential in energy costs [ £ / year] = Total leakage rate [Nm³/hour] * Compressed air costs [£/1 Nm³] * Operating hours [hours/1 year]
If you would like to discuss your onsite compressed air energy costs or are interested in discovering more about leakage rates or flow rates within your compressed air system speak to an expert today.
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