Nowadays, businesses must adhere to stricter environmental regulations, facing pressure to limit their industrial emissions from competitors, government legislation, and from society. You may want to make your business’ compressed air operation more eco-friendly, or you may want to reduce unnecessary waste and heighten energy efficiency. Fortunately, there are many areas of improvement available in compressed air and vacuum systems, allowing for a great minimization in your environmental impact. Furthermore, many of the environmentally friendly initiatives listed below will also reduce your operating costs – a win-win situation!
To reduce the environmental impact of your compressor:
- Maintain consistent audits
- Replace outdated equipment
- Clean out built-up compressed air condensate
- Utilize oil-free compressors
- Create a facility plan
Maintain Consistent Audits
- Professional air and energy audits are one of the best ways to maintain a low environmental footprint while also streamlining your business operations. Audits effectively identify substance leaks or faulty design in your control systems, allowing you to target specific areas in your operation that are wasting substantial amounts of energy. The Compressed Air & Gas Institute found that industrial businesses lose over $3.2 billion each year on excess energy fees as a result of poor air system design and poor system maintenance. With the findings of an audit, facilities drastically increase their system’s efficiency, often being able to cut entire compressors from the process, greatly decreasing their operating costs.
Replace Outdated Equipment
- Old motors, rotors, and lines can all negatively affect your business’ environmental impact. Fortunately, compressed air manufacturers are creating new, revolutionary products. Present-day machinery meets your business’ demands through the use of advanced processes, taking in less energy while producing less emissions, allowing for low operating costs and minimal environmental impact.
Maintain a Condensate-Free Compressed Air System
- The average oil-powered compressed air system produces thousands of gallons of oil laden condensate a year. This contaminated condensate is not always discarded properly due to collection, storage, and removal costs. However, with oil-water separators, any condensate that is produced is easily captured and treated. Although oil condensate can become a costly issue, taking pre-emptive action by using oil-separators offers an environmentally friendly and inexpensive solution.
- Whenever applicable, oil-free compressors are an unmatched opportunity to create a cost-efficient air system with minimal emissions into the environment. Oil-free compressors produce a purer form of air with significantly less waste in comparison to their oil-powered counterparts. Since no oil is used to power the machine, no condensate is produced while in operation and maintenance costs decrease substantially. Along with an absence of costs related to the treatment and removal of oil condensate, oil-free compressors produce less emissions and offer more safety to facility employees, creating a more streamlined operation overall.
Create a Plan for Your Facility
- Compressed air initiatives benefit everyone with reduced operating costs, lower energy consumption, minimal emissions, and healthier work environments. With the expertise of Harris Equipment, you can begin to create a more intelligent and environmentally considerate compressed air and vacuum system. Contact us to discuss options toward an eco-efficient future.