Low cost energy saving monitoring UX90-001M

One of the biggest challenges facing homeowners and facility professionals today is finding ways to reduce energy costs. Challenges can produce equipment in larger industrial facilities.

Air Compressors, for example, are usually one of the largest energy consumers of production equipment. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has indicated that more than 50 percent of compressed air systems in small to medium-sized industrial equipment have energy-saving opportunities.

Concerned about the excessive energy use of its own facilities, New York-based metal products manufacturer Pair Power Concepts LLC, a Manhattan consulting engineering firm, recently conducted an energy feasibility study at the company's production facilities.

Specifically, the company wanted to perform runtime monitoring of its Air Compressor equipment in order to understand usage patterns on a 24/7 basis and see opportunities for energy reductions as they existed.

Betsy Jenkins, Energy Field Team Director Power Concepts, led the project. "Our customers wanted an energy survey because they felt they were spending too much money on the energy consumption of the equipment," Jenkins said. "They were concerned that their compressors were consuming the majority of the building's energy and asked us to monitor the operation of their main Air Compressors at several times."

Consultants like Jenkins use their knowledge and skills to help building owners and facility management professionals identify large energy consumers in facilities and make recommendations that can help clients operate more efficiently and save on energy costs.

To monitor compressor operation, Jenkins selects HOBO® On/Off Status Data UX90-001, UX90-001M, UX90-004, UX90-004M, UX120-017, UX120-017M Lighting Status Logger Logger from Massachusetts Emergence . HOBO loggers were chosen especially due to their reputation for accuracy.

"In our work, we need to make sure we're getting accurate data. HOBOs are great because of their reliability and low cost," Jenkins explained.

HOBO On/Off Loggers are compact, battery-operated devices that are used to record on/off status changes, and store time, data and status information for each change.

A status logger monitors the on/off status of each compressor on each of the three main compressors of the device UX90-001, UX90-001M, UX90-004, UX90-004M, UX120-017, UX120-017M. The logger is able to record the time that each compressor will be turned on.

Once compressor run-time data is collected over a two-week period, it is downloaded to a computer and analyzed using HOBOware Pro™ graphing and analysis software. HOBOware features easy Recorder start and readout functions, powerful data plotting functions, and an intuitive graphical user interface.

Data collected indicated that the compressors were operating at an unusually high rate, and were contributing to the facility's high energy demand. Jenkins and her team perform a second, more in-depth site evaluation of the building while the building is closed during the company's lunch hour. During their visit, Dr. Jenkins and her team pointed out the location of the compressed air leak from various fittings. In one case, they noted that the compressed air nozzle performing the treatment was propped open to disperse the fumes.

"Since we conducted our site survey when the building was quiet, we were able to detect a hissing sound, never noticed before. We found that one of the machine operators was using the compressor nozzle as a fan to blow the smoke away from his Welding machines. Employees didn't know his company was spending a lot of money," Jenkins said. "The situation is easy to fix and less expensive to dispel unpleasant odors with a small fan installed near the machine."

HOBO On/Off Status Data Loggers UX90-001, UX90-001M, UX90-004, UX90-004M, UX120-017, UX120-017M, said Jenkins, help understand that most of the electrical usage can be attributed to a few Air Compressors of leaks.

"Our customer was unaware that their compressor was running at a frequency until the investigation was conducted. The HOBO loggers provided us with vital data" concluded Jenkins. "The cost savings expected from our proposed energy saving measures will save the client substantial money."