Guidelines

This is a guide to best practice in improving energy efficiency in boilers, steam systems, hotwater systems and process heating.

Topics covered by this guide include:

• What are the basic components of industrial steam, hot water and process heating systems?
• How can I tell if the system is functioning efficiently?
• What are the areas where systems can be improved to operate more efficiently?
• What energy source should I use?

Starting a motor without any control of the current and torque typically causes motor current more than six times the rated current and starting torque much higher than the rated torque of the motor.

The high starting torque creates high loads that can stress mechanical components such as couplings and shafts. With larger motors, high starting currents can lead to flickering lights and unacceptable voltage drops across a site.

This handbook is provided to enable trained maintenance service providers to deliver the ‘Air Efficiency Rating Scheme' (AERS) to their clients.

AERS is designed for use with businesses that have a single compressor (normally smaller than 75kW in capacity). It involves taking periodic snapshots of the efficiency of the compressed air system, assigning an efficiency rating to the system at each snapshot and highlighting where efficiency opportunities exist.

This guide outlines the steps businesses can take to improve the energy efficiency of compressed air systems.

Compressors typically convert only 15% of electrical energy to compressed air energy, with the other 85% converted to heat. So it's vital to ensure all compressed air is used productively.