Tag: calculator

Calculating Return On Investment with EXAIR Products

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Just because something works, doesn’t necessarily mean it works as well as it could. We talk to folks every day who have compressed air-operated devices that work OK, but they’re loud. Or they’re not compliant with safety regulations. Or they use too much compressed air. EXAIR has solutions to all of those issues, but it’s that last one that I want to spend some time on today.

A caller was using a drilled pipe to clean blow off a conveyor – it was 36″ wide, so the pipe had (72) 1/16″ diameter holes drilled, one every 1/2″ along the pipe length. It used compressed air at a rate of 261 SCFM with a supply pressure of 60psig. We can use a US Department of Energy thumb rule which states that it costs $0.25 to generate 1,000 Standard Cubic Feet of compressed air to determine the annual operating cost of this drilled pipe, which they operate eight hours a day, 250 days a year:

261 SCFM X 60 min/hr X 8 hr/day X 250 days/yr X $0.25/1,000 SCF = $7,830.00 annual cost

Here’s a typical drilled pipe that we tested for a customer in our Efficiency Lab.

A 36″ Super Air Knife only uses 82.8 SCFM @60psig. Using the same math:

82.8 SCFM X 60 min/hr X 8 hr/day X 250 days/yr X $0.25/1,000 SCF = $2,484.00 annual cost

Super Air Knife drying fruits and vegetables

Now we have the data to use our Return on Investment calculation:

Gain from investment: $7,830.00 (drilled pipe cost) – $2,484.00 (Super Air Knife cost) = $5,346.00

Cost of investment: 2024 price for a Model 110036 36″ Aluminum Super Air Knife = $938.00

A 470% annual return is spectacular by any measure. To further put that in perspective, let’s calculate how long it takes for the Air Knife to pay for itself. The 36″ Aluminum Super Air Knife costs $938.00 (2024 price), and the annual savings in compressed air cost are $5,346.00:

$938.00 (spent) ÷ $5,346.00 (saved/yr) = 0.18 years

Since we used 250 days – 5 days/week for 52 weeks, less 10 days for holidays, maintenance, etc.:

0.18 years X 250 days/year = 45 days

So, in about a month and a half, they saved as much as they spent on the Super Air Knife. We’ve worked with customers who have seen their return on investment in just a few days, or as long as a year or so. Regardless, if it costs less to operate, you’re still moving in the right direction. If you’d like to find out how much you can save – and how fast you can pay off your investment – you can do the math above, or you can use our Online Calculators, or you can give me a call.

Oh, and if you don’t have the air consumption data on what you’re using now, we can measure that for you in our Efficiency Lab. It’s a free service we offer, without obligation to purchase anything, for anyone who wants to know the performance level of their air-operated blow off devices.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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EXAIR Calculators

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

I went to grade school in the 1970s and really developed a love of mathematics in the fifth grade (1976-1977), spurred on by a wonderful teacher that I actually still am in touch with today. 1977 was also the year that I got my first handheld calculator. It had an LCD display and would perform basic arithmetic, as long as the 9V battery lasted. If I recall, it set me back almost $10, which was what I earned in two Saturday afternoons of helping a neighbor split firewood (I hauled & stacked; he ran the log splitter).

Pretty soon, all the cool kids were getting them, and, while the teachers couldn’t stop us from doing math homework with them, they DID prohibit them in the classroom, and lectured us CONSTANTLY about the need to do – and show – our work on paper, because we were NEVER going to carry a calculator around in our pockets. The classroom calculator ban continued on through high school, but in Naval Nuclear Power School, and then college, the use of calculators was actually mandated…but only after we’d demonstrated proficiency in doing math on paper. That’s a concept I agree with wholeheartedly.

Fast-forward to the 21st century, and it turns out, just about everybody DOES carry a calculator in their pockets…on the same device that has a built-in camera, video recorder, GPS…oh, and us old timers actually make phone calls on it too. You can also use that smartphone to access websites where you might find online calculators that aid in selecting that particular company’s products. As you might have guessed by now, EXAIR is one of those particular companies, and I’m writing this blog today to let you know about our Calculator Library. Depending on what you want to know, we have several that’ll do the math for you:

Air Savings Calculator: Use this one to determine the potential compressed air savings associated with replacing an existing compressed air blowing device with an efficient EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Product. There are two to choose from: one in USD, and one in Euros.

EFC Calculator: Not all blowing applications require continuous operation of the blowing device. EXAIR’s EFC Electronic Flow Control is a standalone system that’ll turn the compressed air flow on & off, as needed, so you don’t waste money on compressed air consumption when it’s not doing anything for you. This calculator will tell you how much you can save on compressed air costs, and your return on investment in the EFC. Like the Air Savings Calculator, we have a USD and a Euro version.

Cabinet Cooler System Calculator: Instead of air consumption & dollars (or Euros), our new Cabinet Cooler System Calculator is all about heat loads and cooling capacities. EXAIR has offered the ability to submit Cabinet Cooler Sizing Guide data for a long time – by fax (THAT’S how long it’s been), email, or straight through the website. For the Do-It-Yourselfers out there, we now have this feature for you to submit your data and get an immediate answer as to which Cabinet Cooler System has the cooling capacity to handle the heat load calculated from your data.

For the record, I’ve only chided my 5th grade teacher for her insistence that nobody would ever be carrying calculators around with them all day. It was on a Facebook post – where we were both using smartphones – and we had a good laugh about it. All’s well that ends well. But if you’ve got questions about EXAIR’s calculators, feel free to give me a call. We can even do the math the old-fashioned way if you prefer.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Overheating Cabinets Are Bad. Cabinet Cooler Systems on Promotion Are Good!

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

In southwest Ohio we are currently experiencing 88°F. And we have begun to see increased numbers of inquiries for Cabinet Cooler Systems to keep control cabinets cool. This comes with the territory of approaching summer here in the northern hemisphere, and elsewhere it is due to new machines going into areas of a facility where it is constantly hot and dirty. It seems like the perfect time to offer up some free stuff with our Cabinet Cooler Promotion.

That’s right, order any of the Cabinet Cooler® Systems listed and receive a free A/C Sensor Pen. This pen has saved me from getting shocked many of times around my home.   Without it of course, I find myself guessing I turned the correct breaker off and, as soon as I touch the outlet I am working on I get hit with 110V. This sensor is helpful to locate the presence of voltage and avoid getting shocked.

We are here to assist your choice of Cabinet Cooler system and to provide a very fast solution to the downtime you are experiencing. We manufacture Cabinet Cooler systems from 275 Btu/Hr through 5600 Btu/Hr with NEMA 12, 4 and 4X integrity as well as Hazardous Location. If you don’t know what Cabinet Cooler System you need, take a look at our new Cabinet Cooler Calculator or the form below. It can be found on our site, get the information and call, fax, e-mail or live chat with an Application Engineer to get a quick and accurate response on what amount of cooling your system will need.

Sizing Guide

Over our thirty years in business we have also seen many companies who only experience a short span of seasonal heat and have found that 2000 Btu/Hr is enough refrigeration to offset summertime heat load, in most cases. Choosing a model with a thermostat control will turn the cooler on and off as needed and minimize compressed air use. Cabinet Cooler systems are in STOCK and ship same day for domestic and Canadian orders received by 3:00 pm EDT. We can get your cabinet cooled FAST and eliminate your heat related problems. Cabinet Cooler systems are shipped ready to install through a standard electrical knockout. There is no waiting for oil to settle back into the compressor motor, no mounting templates required or huge holes to cut into your cabinet. Cabinet Cooler systems have no moving parts to wear, making them rugged and lasting in your hot environment.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

How Fast Can I Get My Return On Investment

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Whenever an EXAIR product is sold to another business there is ultimately a question from a customer whether they know it or not. That question is very often, how fast will this product pay itself back in production gains, air savings, or decrease in downtime. One of the ways we offer this information is through our calculators.

The easiest method to determine how fast an EXAIR Engineered Solution will pay itself back is by knowing a few variables and then plugging them into our simplified Air Savings Calculator on the EXAIR site.

Simple ROI Calculator from EXAIR.comhttps://www.exair.com/knowledgebase/calculator-library/air-savings-calculator-usd.html?pub=28.calc

The Variables:
1. Current Customer Consumption (SCFM) or (SLPM) – We need this to have the baseline, it isn’t always easy to know off the top of your head so we offer items like the Digital Flowmeter or even the ability to send the product to us through the Efficiency Lab for a free diagnosis of consumption.

2. $ Cost of EXAIR Product – This is easy, you can even add in other known project costs to this that you want factored in for the return on investment. The more you add, the less it becomes a simplified ROI. Basic cost of the EXAIR product that is being installed is the best to keep it simplified.

3. EXAIR Product Consumption (SCFM) or (SLPM) – This can easily be obtained from our website or our Brain Trust, I mean Application Engineers who are always eager to talk about air consumption and other technical details. To really determine this we just need to know the operating air pressure and the model number.

4. $ Cost of compressed air/1,000 Cubic Feet – This is a value that may be known by the on-site utilities team, if not a good industry standard for the Midwest is $.25 USD. This has come assumptions on your kWh cost of energy and compressor efficiency. Again, if you want to dive deep into this, reach out to our Application Engineers, we are here for a reason.

That’s it, with those values input you can get a break down on how much air, and money you are saving and a simple payback in days of operation.

If you have questions on the math behind this, or how to determine/factor in some more information, contact one of the team members here and we will walk you through the best options to decrease your payback time and increase your efficiency.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF