GPCS448 Good Practice Variable speed drives and

Case Study compressed air savings

at Highland Galvanizers, Elgin
 Highland Galvanizers
The Business Case
Company profile
Highland Metals is a privately owned Scottish
Limited Company trading under the name of
Highland Galvanizers. The company provides
hot dip galvanizing services to a wide range of
industries throughout Scotland from its facility
in Elgin, Moray.
Achievements
Significant cost and energy savings have been
made through good housekeeping, investment
in energy efficient technology and through the
negotiation of new utility contracts.
Energy savings have been crucial to the company
in its progress towards meeting its Climate
Change Levy (CCL) commitments. These efficiency
measures, amongst many others taken by Highland
Galvanizers, have helped to maintain the company’s
CCL discount worth nearly £ 2,000/annum.
 The company benefited from onsite
advice from Action Energy
 Electricity savings of over
197,000 kWh/annum
 Cost savings of the order of
£12,200/annum
 Emission savings of 85,000 kg
CO2/annum
Highland Galvanizers implemented a range of
energy efficiency measures including the upgrade
of their compressed air system as recommended by
the Action Energy Consultant.
Geoff Crowley, the Managing Director, has been
delighted with the results that have been achieved
to date.
These include:
 a better working environment
 reduced workplace accidents
 a positive effect on overall productivity
 significant energy and cost savings
 a significant reduction in both labour and
material cost for maintenance.
Energy management
Highland Galvanizers works to the highest
environmental standards and considers energy
management to be another important factor in
ensuring continued environmental improvement
and compliance with relevant legislation,
regulations and industry standards/codes of
practice.
Increasing utility costs and the introduction of the
CCL provided additional incentive for the company
to assess and improve energy and environmental
performance.
 Highland Galvanizers

The Technical Case

Action Energy advice

Highland Galvanizers benefited from free on-site
advice from Action Energy. This advice identified
a number of key energy and cost saving
opportunities, for example, the compressed air
system improvements.

Compressed air leakage reduction

Compressed air leakage was identified as a
particular problem. The company uses a lot of
hand tools with trailing hoses and in this harsh
working environment air lines, often left lying
on the ground, were either punctured or frayed.
The installation of spring loaded retractable hose
reels dramatically reduced damage. Leaks often
occur at the point where the flexible hose is
connected to hand tools due to constant flexing.
This problem was overcome by fitting universal ball
To get the very best from the compressor, the air
joint connectors. The energy savings from these
intake ductwork was arranged to allow clean and
two leak reduction measures are estimated to be
cool air to be drawn from outside the factory.
approximately 37,000 kWh/annum. There was also
This improves compressor efficiency and life
a very significant reduction in maintenance costs.
expectancy.

Variable speed air compressor
The Action Energy survey confirmed that the
compressor was not fully loaded and spent a
significant amount of time running off-load. The
consultant recommended that this waste of energy
could be avoided by installing a variable speed
drive that would match compressed air production
with demand. Highland Galvanizers investigated
this and installed a new variable speed compressor
that modulates output to match demand.
Energy saving for these two measures is estimated
to be approximately 160,000 kWh/annum.
Pressure reduction
Highland Galvanizers originally operated its air
system at a pressure of 7 barg to ensure adequate
pressure at remote parts of the factory. Now that
system leakage has been minimised, the operating
pressure has been reduced whilst maintaining
adequate pressure in all parts of the factory.

Rules of thumb
 At 7 barg a hole the size of a match head will
leak approximately 3 l/s requiring 1 kW of input
electrical power. One such leak can cost up to
£ 350 per year for a system operating 24 hours
and 7 days.

 Fresh air ducted directly through the wall to

the new compressor provides air at ambient
temperature. Reducing air inlet temperature by
4o C can save approximately 1% of compressor
power.

 Every 0.5 barg of air pressure increases energy

consumption by approximately 3.5 %.
 0800 58 57 94
The Financial Case
The results have been outstanding. The company
has saved energy and money. The improvements
to the compressed air system at Highland
Galvanizers have afforded annual cost savings of
approximately £12,200.
Savings
 The variable speed compressor is estimated to
save energy worth nearly £6,000 per annum.
 Reducing compressed air leakage resulted in
energy savings in the order of £1,400 per annum.
 Significant reductions in maintenance costs for
both labour and materials resulted in estimated
savings of £4,800 per annum.
Costs
 The cost of the new compressor was £10,000.
 The cost for installation of retractable hose
reels and universal ball joint connectors to air
tools was £1,050.
Payback
The simple payback achieved for compressor
installation was 1.7 years. However, if all savings
and expenditure are considered the company has
achieved a simple payback of 11 months.
www.actionenergy.org.uk
Action Energy is a programme run by the Carbon Trust and funded by
the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Scottish
Executive, Invest Northern Ireland and the National Assembly for Wales.
Action Energy assistance
Expert advice
Action Energy provides free expert energy efficiency advice.
Energy surveys
Your company may qualify for a free energy efficiency survey
from one of Action Energy’s qualified consultants.
Action Enery loans
Action Energy can provide an interest free loan to SMEs in
England, Wales and N Ireland of up to £50,000, repayable over
up to 5 years for investment in energy efficiency measures.
In Scotland the Scottish Executive offer a similar scheme
called ‘Loan Action Scotland’.
Publications
A range of free publications is available including:
GPG367 The Better Buisiness Guide to Energy Saving
FOCUS The Manager’s Guide to Reducing Energy Bills
ECG40 Compressing Air Costs/Generation
ECG41 Compressing Air Costs/Leakage
For details of any of these services or free publications,
contact the Environment & Energy Helpline on 0800 58 57 94
and select the Energy option, or visit the Action Energy website
at www.actionenergy.org.uk. For Loan Action Scotland contact
www.energy-efficiency.org/howto/help/loan/.
Tax incentives
The whole capital value of energy efficient technologies which
qualify under the Enhanced Capital Allowances scheme (such
as variable speed drives) may be written down in the year of
purchase. For further information go to www.eca.gov.uk.
Manufacturers and suppliers
For further information about variable speed air compressors
contact the British Compressed Air Society Limited
33/34 Devonshire Street, London W1G 6YP
Tel: 020 7935 2464 Fax: 020 7935 3077
E-Mail: info@britishcompressedair.co.uk
www.britishcompressedairsociety.co.uk
Whilst we have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the information
contained within this Guide is correct, we give no warranty and make no
representation as to its accuracy and we accept no liability for any errors
or omissions and nor does the Carbon Trust nor the Government.
Nothing in this Case Study is intended to be or should be interpreted as an
endorsement of, or recommendation for any supplier, service or product.
The Carbon Trust is a Company limited by guarantee, registered in England
and Wales, number 4190230.
© Queen’s Printer and Controller of HSMO, October 2003