Energy saving - Using outside air for compressor intake
The power consumed by a compressor is proportional to the specific volume, which is proportional to the absolute temperature of the gas at a given pressure. It is also clear that the compressor work is directly proportional to the inlet temperature of air. Therefore, the lower the inlet temperature of the air, the smaller the compressor work. Then the power reduction factor, which is the fraction of compressor power reduced as a result of taking intake air from the outside, becomes f reduction = (W comp, inside - W comp, outside ) / W comp, inside f reduction = (T inside - T outside ) / T inside f reduction = 1 - (T outside /T inside ) where T inside and T outside are the absolute tempertaure (in K or R) of the ambient air inside and outside the facility, respectively. Thus reducing the absolute inlet temperature by 5%, for example, will reduce the compressor power input by 5%. As a rule of thumb, for a specified amount of compressed air, the power consumption of the compressor ...