Atlas Copco hilft, eine hitzige Situation in Massachusetts abzukühlen

Es war mitten im Sommer, als die Kompressoren in einer Anlage in Massachusetts abgeschaltet wurden. Die Kompressoren liefen zwar jahrelang einwandfrei, aber jetzt nicht mehr; Sie waren am Nachmittag überhitzt. Der Facility Manager wandte sich an Atlas Copco, um Abhilfe zu schaffen.

„Der Manager war nicht sehr glücklich“, sagte der Regionalvertreter von Atlas Copco, der mit der Anlage zusammenarbeitete. „Sie waren jahrelang mit unseren Kompressoren und unserem vorbeugenden Wartungsplan zufrieden. Als die Dinge schief liefen, sahen sie nur das Problem und unser Logo auf den Kompressoren.“

Der verständlicherweise verärgerte Facility Manager hatte alle Empfehlungen von Atlas Copco befolgt und sogar Kühlkanäle im Kompressorraum installiert. Trotzdem überhitzten die Kompressoren immer noch.

„Wir stellten schnell fest, dass das HVAC-System nicht in Ordnung war“, sagte der Regionalvertreter von Atlas Copco. „Der Facility Manager ließ es installieren, weil der Kompressorraum im Sommer heiß wurde. Das ist eine großartige Idee, aber es gab ein kleines Problem. Wir haben es bemerkt, als wir Probleme hatten, die Tür zum Kompressorraum zu öffnen.“

Dieser Hinweis war das Tor zur Lösung des Problems. Wenn Luft aus einem Kompressorraum abgelassen wird, sollte mehr Luft eingeführt werden. Wenn nicht, wird dem Raum die Luft entzogen und es entsteht ein Unterdruck.

„Als wir den Raum betraten, stellten wir sofort fest, dass das Problem nicht bei den Kompressoren, sondern beim Luftstrom lag“, sagte der Regionalvertreter von Atlas Copco. „Es kam keine ‚Make-up-Luft‘ in den Raum. Wir ließen die Tür und ein paar Fenster offen, und die Kompressoren funktionierten sofort besser.“

The facility manager had the HVAC company install make-up air ductwork from the outside directly into each compressor inlet-air grating. While this is typically a recommended practice, it still didn’t solve the facility’s problem.

“You would think everything would be fine now, but the units continued to overheat,” the Atlas Copco regional representative said. “We came back out to the facility and inspected the system again. The ductwork inside the building looked fine but when we went outside we noticed that the hot air discharge was too close to the cooling air inlet. That allowed hot air to be drawn into the cooling air duct, causing a buildup of inlet air temperatures that eventually resulted in overheating.”

Atlas Copco recommended the facility run the hot air discharge ductwork away from the inlet cooling air duct in the summer but into the warehouse during the winter. The 50,000 square foot warehouse was kept at just above freezing during winter months to save money on heating costs. While this was fine for the product, employees had to dress for frigid temperatures.

“The customer was wary of this solution, because they weren’t convinced that the heat recovery would offset the cost of additional ductwork installation,” the Atlas Copco regional representative said.

The calculations proved otherwise. With four 350 horsepower compressors running fully loaded most of the time, the machines were producing over 3 million BTU/hr heat rejection.

Let’s put that in perspective. In order to heat a 2,500 square foot home in a winter climate (25 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit) to around 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, you need approximately 125,000 BTU/hr. This means the 3 million BTU/hr produced by the compressors could heat more than 28 residential homes and easily heat the 50,000 square foot facility throughout the winter months.

The savings more than paid off.

“The customer was thrilled with the savings, and the employees were thrilled with the warmth,” the Atlas Copco regional representative said. “The installation went well, and the facility is still experiencing excellent compressor performance without the nuisance of high air temperature shut downs.”

On top of the energy savings the warehouse gained from using heat recovery, the utility company paid for 50 percent of the ductwork costs.

“This was truly a win for everyone,” the Atlas Copco regional representative said. “We were able to bring top quality service to our customer, the facility saved money and the employees can stay warm through the freezing Massachusetts winters.”

Do you have an Atlas Copco success story? Share it in the comments below! You can also view all of our customer stories by visiting www.atlascopco.com/air-usa.