When you have a compressed air system that uses more than one compressor or dryer, it can be difficult to determine which machine to run when. This is especially true if your demand for compressed air fluctuates daily! Compressed air consumption is seldom constant, which means that many compressor installations are designed flexibly and use a combination of compressors with different capacities and speed-controlled motors.
Modern intelligent controllers focus on operational efficiency and will select the most economical compressor or compressor combination, if compressors of different capacities make up the system (i.e. if a system is comprised of a VSD and fixed-speed compressors). The central controller will ensure the compressors run continuously loaded, thereby minimizing idling periods and providing optimal economy. In many cases, it’s also possible to connect older machines to these systems, thereby modernizing the entire compressor installation in a relatively easy manner.
Why Use Central Controllers in Compressor Installations?
In compressor installations, the use of a central controller lets the system maintain a predetermined pressure within tight limits to provide economic operation of the installation. To achieve this, the system must be capable of predicting demand, while at the same time sensing both the load on the compressor and how quickly the pressure changes. Using these values, the system performs calculations that make it possible to predict the air demand and will either load/off-load or start/stop the connected compressors. In a correctly dimensioned installation, the pressure fluctuation will be kept within ± 0.2 bar.
Did you know?
Up to 70% of the life cycle cost of a typical air compressor installation goes into energy consumption. With the Optimizer 4.0, our newest advanced central controller, you will generate and sustain energy savings
What if I run multiple compressors without a central controller?
Without our central controllers, the load/unload pressure of each compressor can be set to react to changes in air demand. If the system pressure drops, an additional compressor will switch to loaded running. However, the sequence will always be the same, and the advantages of a Variable Speed Drive are not fully put to use. The result: higher pressures than required, too much unloaded running and … a steep energy bill.
What about load distribution of my compressors?
Our central controllers can be set to prevent unequal wear of compressors, equalizing the running hours on multiple machines for more efficient service scheduling.
Remote View Monitoring
Smart View
Get rid of high cost of system monitoring integration and have your own Atlas Copco designed local visualization screen for machine parameters, compressed air & flow demand, power consumption and other notifications that can be viewed remotely via Local Area Network.
