It might not be opera, but you know what you like. Air compressors run most economically when well maintained, in their highest-efficiency operating range, and at their lowest design pressure. In an ideal system, all but one compressor will be fully loaded or turned off, and the combination of compressors will be the one best suited for the current load.
But few facilities have the luxury of an ideal compressed air system. They tend to grow as production is added and changes, and depend on funding, capital and real estate. “They’re evolved rather than planned, with big and small compressors, in annexes or wherever,” says Randy Finck, global category manager, Ingersoll Rand Industrial Technologies (www.ingersollrand.com). “So you play the hand you’re dealt.”
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