Are you wondering why your facility’s energy bills keep skyrocketing despite your team doing their part to minimise energy waste? If your business has quite a few in-house air compressors in Grimsby, the reason for the inflated energy bills is the salt-saturated, moist coastal air, which forces your facility’s compressors to use more energy to compress damp air.
In addition to increasing your facility’s energy bills, the damp coastal air also throttles compressor performance, triggers internal rust, and causes pressure drops.
The Physics of Salt Air: Why Coastal Humidity Wrecks Efficiency
Operating air compressors in Grimsby compels the equipment to suck in maritime air, which is saturated with microscopic salt particles and moisture. What happens next is best described in the sections below.
The Condensation Trap
When a compressor sucks in moist air and compresses it, the system heats up significantly – that’s just physics at work.
When that hot air travels down the system’s air lines, it gradually cools, and the moisture in the compressed air turns into liquid water. Compressors operating in coastal areas generate several litres of water every day.
If the compressors in your facility are not primed to handle this deluge, water will start pooling in the air distribution plumbing and in receiver tanks strewn across your facility.
The True Cost of Wet Air
If you continue to ignore the water pooling in your facility’s compressed air infrastructure, be ready to deal with the following costly issues.
Internal Corrosion
The trapped moisture will corrode the inner linings of your facility’s compressed air plumbing and, over time, restrict airflow.
Pressure Drops
To compensate for the drop in the entire infrastructure’s air pressure caused by restricted airflow through the corroded pipes, your facility’s compressors will work harder to raise the pressure.
Remember, even if the compressors at your facility are working hard to raise pressure by just 1 bar above normal, the equipment’s overall energy consumption has already increased by roughly 7%.
Line Freezing
On chilly days, excess moisture in the compressed air lines at your facility can freeze, triggering a complete operational shutdown.
Actionable Steps to Protect Your Machinery and Slash Bills
You cannot change the climate of Grimsby, right?
What you can do is retrofit your place of business with specialised dryers.
How would that help?
Well, refrigerant-based dryers can cool the ambient air in your facility by 3°C, removing excess moisture, and then the dry air enters the workplace’s compressed air network.
You can also decide to install desiccant dryers onsite. In terms of efficiency, desiccant dryers are the best, as they effectively remove excess moisture from ambient air.
Additionally, you can invest in condensate drains that automatically purge collected condensate, eliminating the need to vent expensive compressed air. In this way, you can preserve the pressure in your facility’s compressed air system and keep the property’s overall energy profile lean.
Reclaiming Your Bottom Line Against the Elements
You have invested your hard-earned money in new, efficient air compressors so your facility can serve more customers and your business can grow. But losing your premium machinery to local weather-based erosion is not only frustrating but also creates a money pit for you.
To keep that from happening to your facility and its compressed air infrastructure, invest in air filtration technology, integrate high-efficiency dryers onsite, and fix moisture-induced leaks by performing preventive maintenance on the compressed air system on time with reputable service providers like TA Industries Ltd.
Follow these steps, and over time, you’d notice that the overall energy bills of your business have reduced by 20% to 30%.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How Often Should The Compressor Tank Should Be Drained In A High-Humidity Area?
A: Experts recommend draining the tank of a compressor every day. That will keep the tank’s internal surfaces free from corrosion.
Q: Will A Standard Air Filter Protect A Compressor From Coastal Salt Spray?
A: Standard filters cannot keep the fine particulates of coastal salt spray. To protect the compressor, it is recommended that it be equipped with a high-efficiency coalescing filter, which effectively traps corrosive salt aerosols.
Q: Does An Air Dryer Help Keep My Facility’s Energy Bills Low?
A: Yes. In addition to lowering your facility’s energy bills, air dryers can help your facility’s air compressors run more efficiently and last longer between services.
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