Sound levels and ROI don’t immediately link together in a quick thought. Unless you are me and things seem to link up that don’t always go together, like peanut butter and a cheese burger. (Trust me, just try it, or if you are near West Lafayette, Indiana just go try the Purvis Burger across the street from Purdue University.) The truth behind tying sound levels being reduced and ROI together is actually pretty simple.
For this example, I am going to stay fairly high level as we could get into some pretty deep measurements of what exactly could be a cost savings. If we reduce the sound level being generated by point of use compressed air products that is easiest to do by implementing engineered blow off products as well as reducing the operating pressure. Let’s use this example: A 1/4″ copper tube that is being used as a blow off will give off a noise level of over 100 dBA from 3′ away. The table below shows that at an 80 psig inlet pressure the same tube will also consume 33 SCFM of compressed air.
By installing a model 1100 1/4″ FNPT Super Air Nozzle on the end of this copper tube, we reduce the noise level generated by the blow off to 74 dBA. This measurement is at the same 80 psig inlet pressure and from 3′ away, which is well below the OSHA standard for allowable noise level exposure. This also gives a broader more defined pattern to the air stream which may permit a reduction in compressed air pressure.
The other factor this changes is that the air consumption is reduced by 19 SCFM of compressed air which then results in energy savings. This ultimately ends in a simple ROI equation where we are simply using the compressed air reduction as the only variable for the return.
By reducing the air consumption of a process that operates 24/7, 250 days a year that equates to a savings of 6,840,000 SCFM per year and that equates to $1,710.00 USD. This does not account for any reduction in paying for hearing protection that may no longer be needed, or increase in production because the application functions better.
So you see, reducing noise levels in a facility can easily amount to a sizable cost savings in energy going towards compressed air consumption. If you would like to walk through any potential applications, please contact us.
From August 1st to September 30th, 2017, EXAIR will be giving away a 1” Flat Super Air Nozzle with a purchase of a Precision, Soft Grip, or Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun. We are promoting the importance of safety in the workplace with the EXAIR Safety Air Guns as well as the versatility of the different types of EXAIR nozzles. This promotional item, model 1126 nozzle, has a patented shim to blows a 1” wide stream of air to clean surfaces quickly and efficiently; a $43.00 complimentary gift (click on the link below).
Promotional Nozzle with EXAIR Super Air Guns
Compressed air guns are one of the most commonly used pneumatic products in a manufacturing plant. They are used at workstations to blow off debris and to clean parts and tools. Because of the large quantities that are used in a plant; they are the most targeted by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Majority of the common brands of air guns fail to comply with two common violations, rule 29CFR 1910.95(a) for loudness and rule 29CFR 1910.242(b) for dead-end pressure. The reason is due to the nozzles that comes with the compressed air guns. Fines can get very expensive, and you can alleviate these penalties by purchasing an EXAIR Safety Air Gun. We are all responsible for safety; management, HSE department (Health and Safety Engineer), supervisors, and even the operators. Your compressed air guns should be assessed in your facility to evaluate your safe work environment.
1310 Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun
With EXAIR Safety Air Guns, we supply an efficient, effective, and most important, safe air nozzle with all of our air guns. They are CE Compliant and exceed the OSHA sound level and dead-end pressure requirements. With substandard air guns, the operators would have to listen to loud noises all day and have to wear hearing protection. As for the dead-end pressure; the EXAIR nozzles are engineered to not allow the operator to completely close the end against the hand or skin. This is very important because if the pressure exceeds 30 PSIG, air can penetrate the skin and cause an air embolism. Some manufacturers place a restriction inside the air gun to comply with this standard, sacrificing the effectiveness of the blowing force. With our design, the compressed air is not able to be blocked; allowing the air to escape to atmosphere. Even with the compressed air system set to 100 PSIG, the pressure against the skin will not exceed 30 PSIG. Safety is a major concern for all of our customers and a priority for EXAIR in manufacturing our products.
1210-6-CS Soft Grip Safety Air Gun
As I mentioned above, the nozzles are one of the most significant parts in making a compressed air gun safe and OSHA compliant. In combining our engineered nozzles with a quality air gun, this makes the EXAIR Safety Air Guns one of the best products on the market. We currently have three different styles; the Precision, Soft Grip, and Heavy Duty. These Safety Air Guns are ergonomically designed to fit comfortable in your hand; and they come with quality trigger mechanisms and a durable valve assembly. The Precision Safety Air Gun is great for tight spaces and clearing out small holes. The Soft Grip Safety Air Gun provides extra comfort for long extended uses, and the Heavy Duty Safety Air Gun is a rugged, heavy duty industrial air gun. In combination with the EXAIR nozzles, the Safety Air Guns can offer another important attribute; we can save you money!!! Compressed air is very expensive to make, and with our Safety Air Guns, we use less compressed air but still create a strong blowing force. We do this by entraining the free ambient air into the air stream. If you increase the mass of air to the target, it will give you a hard hitting force to remove debris from surfaces or to clean tools and holes. The amplification ratio can be as much as 25 to 1. That means that for every 1 part of compressed air, the EXAIR Nozzles will entrain 25 parts of ambient air. So, the payback period for using an EXAIR Nozzle can be within weeks by the savings in the electrical cost. With the EXAIR products, we were able to partner with Energy Star and power facilities. For the amount of energy savings, some power companies offer rebates for using EXAIR products. We can offer our services to see if your local power company is participating in these rebates.
1408SS-CS Precision Safety Air Gun
A substandard blow-off gun is unsafe, loud, waste compressed air, and increase production times. EXAIR Safety Air Guns can help improve these situations in all these areas. They are OSHA compliant, very safe and very quiet. They use less compressed air which saves you money. And with a variety of different nozzles, they can better fit your application to decrease down time. EXAIR offers a 30 day unconditional guarantee on our cataloged items to try. You can see for yourself on how effective these compressed air guns can be. If you need help to match the best Safety Air Gun to your application, you can contact an Application Engineer. And during the next two months, take advantage of the free 1” Flat Super Air Nozzle offer.
