DRYING!!!!!!! Use in Compressed Air Blow off and is it Worthwhile to Change It to a Blower?

1.              Is blower system as good as compressed air system? The actual forces and needs that you need to measure for the application. This will determine what size, even though a blower can do the same job. If a blower is used instead of a compressed air system and is found to be less efficient, production will be slowed, and these losses will offset any savings. In fact, what usually happens is that the blower system gets replenished with compressed air blown out, negating the desired energy savings. Car wash systems can use blowers effectively because it is "slow". But production lines that need to dry more complex items may require the power of compressed air.

2.              How much energy is actually used? Companies that provide compressed air purging tend to provide examples to minimize the overall cost of blower systems, while companies that provide blower systems do the opposite -- they provide examples to maximize the cost of compressed air for blower systems. The answer is usually somewhere in between. In this case, the actual force required by the application will determine what is best. For example, if a compressed air application requires only 40 PSI to provide the required force, the actual energy required is much lower than if the pressure must be 80 PSI. In fact, it dropped to about 50 percent! In addition, the compressed air system can be cycled on and off immediately. The blower system cannot, otherwise it will burn out the motor. For a simple example, if you compress air only 70 percent of the time, you reduce energy use by 30 percent. When weighing the use of a blower system, these two considerations can sometimes be equated to close to or even "less" than the actual energy use of the blower system. Sometimes, blower systems are used in conjunction with heaters, which are also the main source of energy use to be considered. Like the blower itself, the heating coil does not turn on and off in a cycle, at least not quickly.

3.              What is the maintenance cost? Because compressed air has many uses beyond empting applications, maintenance costs for existing compressors are unlikely to change. Compressed air purging products themselves are essentially maintenance-free. However, when you "add" a blower system, you now need to maintain another machine. That's a cost. Also, you usually don't have a central blower system - every machine has one. This increases maintenance costs that need to be carefully evaluated. It is not uncommon for increased maintenance costs to more than offset any perceived energy savings. In a world short of qualified maintenance staff, this is a serious consideration.

4.              How about space? Compressed air purge products take up very little space. When you add a blower - you take up more space. That may or may not be a consideration.

5.              Downtime risk? Typically, compressed air systems are independent of central systems and compressors or a series of compressors with backup. However, the blower will be "per machine", so if one blower fails, the production line is shut down. The reliability requirement should be considered seriously in practical application.

     In the real world, any kind of system is good based on the above factors and the specific goals of the company. Each system has        its advantages and disadvantages, but depending on the particular application, one system is objectively superior to the other.