A bottling plant was running three fixed-speed compressors in a lead-lag arrangement. Because demand followed the filling line, two of the three spent most of the day unloaded, and the plant was paying for the idling hours.
What we measured first
- A week of logged pressure and current data across the three existing machines
- Leak survey on the distribution ring, which found several points that only mattered at the higher pressure the plant was running
- Duty profile showing demand swinging between roughly 30% and 90% of installed capacity
What went in
One 45 kW two-stage machine with an inverter drive, keeping two of the old units as backup rather than running them in rotation. System pressure came down by 0.7 bar at the same time, which reduced the leak loss on top of the drive saving.