ALD is not affiliated with any compressor manufacturer which allows us to provide an unbiased analysis.
ALD staff of senior compressed air auditors is easily the most experienced in the compressed air and vacuum industry having fully analyzed several thousand compressed air and vacuum systems and includes four individuals integral to the DOE’s Compressed Air Challenge. See Our Biographical Summary. It is our goal to provide a comprehensive analysis of each compressed air system and then provide a set of alternative solutions.
We clearly define the existing air demand, power requirements, and energy costs which allows us to accurately project the same after completing the recommended upgrades. We believe that in order to be valid, an audit must record the performance of the system to allow independent verification if necessary particularly in the case of utility incentives and rebates. We then provide a complete analysis of the compressed air supply equipment including cooling water, towers, chillers, condensate drain systems, so we can accurately match the supply system to the reconfigured plant air demand. Click here for a detailed description of the ALD audit scope.
The most distinct advantage of the ALD audit method is our in depth analysis of the demand side of a system, a thorough examination of the pneumatic production and process applications in the facility. The unique requirements on the production floor determines the operational limitations of the supply side of air and vacuum systems, so our method includes designing specific solutions to these production applications to provide the flexibility required to dramatically improve the system’s efficiency.
Although each system is unique and requires emphasis in certain areas, the basic Audit Analysis includes:
- Determining the actual capability and condition of the supply equipment including the compressors, dryers, filters, cooling systems, etc.
- Measuring the storage capabilities of the system and its relationship to the changes in air demand that occur.
- Evaluating the pneumatic applications in the system including waste, leaks, artificial demand, and inefficienies.
- Analyzing and providing solutions to correct applications that are not performing acceptably.
- Creating an existing process flow diagram which depicts the general arrangement of the system and the supply power.
- Determining the total operating costs of the system including energy, maintenance, labor, and cooling water
- Developing a prioritized action plan with capital costs and estimated installation costs for modifications to the system.
- Providing a complete audit report, existing and proposed process flow diagrams and pressure logger graphs.
Proven Experience
ALD has designed and installed hundreds of compressed air and industrial automation systems which gives us the practical experience of actually making a system run as intended. This experience has strongly influenced our audit and design methods which tend to be very practical and maximize the ROI and provide long term retention of energy savings for the client.