Atlas Copco ayuda a calmar una situación acalorada en Massachusetts

Fue a mediados del verano cuando los compresores de una instalación de Massachusetts se apagaron. Aunque los compresores habían funcionado sin problemas durante años, pero no más; se estaban sobrecalentando a media tarde. El gerente de la instalación contactó a Atlas Copco para remediar la situación.

“El gerente no estaba muy contento”, dijo el representante regional de Atlas Copco que trabajó con la instalación. “Durante años estuvieron contentos con nuestros compresores y nuestro plan de servicio preventivo. Cuando las cosas empezaron a salir mal, todo lo que vieron fue el problema y nuestro logotipo en los compresores”.

El gerente de la instalación, comprensiblemente molesto, había seguido todas las recomendaciones de Atlas Copco e incluso había instalado conductos de refrigeración en la sala de compresores. Sin embargo, los compresores seguían sobrecalentándose.

“Rápidamente nos dimos cuenta de que el sistema HVAC era incorrecto”, dijo el representante regional de Atlas Copco. “El gerente de la instalación lo instaló porque la sala de compresores se estaba calentando en el verano. Esta es una gran idea, pero había un pequeño problema. Lo notamos cuando tuvimos problemas para abrir la puerta para acceder a la sala de compresores”.

Esta pista fue la puerta de entrada para resolver el problema. Cuando se agota el aire de una sala de compresores, se debe introducir más aire. De lo contrario, la habitación carece de aire y se crea una presión negativa.

“Una vez que entramos en la sala, inmediatamente nos dimos cuenta de que el problema no era con los compresores, sino con el flujo de aire”, dijo el representante regional de Atlas Copco. “No había ningún 'aire de compensación' entrando en el espacio. Dejamos la puerta y algunas ventanas abiertas, y los compresores comenzaron a funcionar mejor de inmediato”.

The facility manager had the HVAC company install make-up air ductwork from the outside directly into each compressor inlet-air grating. While this is typically a recommended practice, it still didn’t solve the facility’s problem.

“You would think everything would be fine now, but the units continued to overheat,” the Atlas Copco regional representative said. “We came back out to the facility and inspected the system again. The ductwork inside the building looked fine but when we went outside we noticed that the hot air discharge was too close to the cooling air inlet. That allowed hot air to be drawn into the cooling air duct, causing a buildup of inlet air temperatures that eventually resulted in overheating.”

Atlas Copco recommended the facility run the hot air discharge ductwork away from the inlet cooling air duct in the summer but into the warehouse during the winter. The 50,000 square foot warehouse was kept at just above freezing during winter months to save money on heating costs. While this was fine for the product, employees had to dress for frigid temperatures.

“The customer was wary of this solution, because they weren’t convinced that the heat recovery would offset the cost of additional ductwork installation,” the Atlas Copco regional representative said.

The calculations proved otherwise. With four 350 horsepower compressors running fully loaded most of the time, the machines were producing over 3 million BTU/hr heat rejection.

Let’s put that in perspective. In order to heat a 2,500 square foot home in a winter climate (25 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit) to around 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, you need approximately 125,000 BTU/hr. This means the 3 million BTU/hr produced by the compressors could heat more than 28 residential homes and easily heat the 50,000 square foot facility throughout the winter months.

The savings more than paid off.

“The customer was thrilled with the savings, and the employees were thrilled with the warmth,” the Atlas Copco regional representative said. “The installation went well, and the facility is still experiencing excellent compressor performance without the nuisance of high air temperature shut downs.”

On top of the energy savings the warehouse gained from using heat recovery, the utility company paid for 50 percent of the ductwork costs.

“This was truly a win for everyone,” the Atlas Copco regional representative said. “We were able to bring top quality service to our customer, the facility saved money and the employees can stay warm through the freezing Massachusetts winters.”

Do you have an Atlas Copco success story? Share it in the comments below! You can also view all of our customer stories by visiting www.atlascopco.com/air-usa.