Compressed air is everywhere. Without it, large parts of the world would literally come to a halt. Fortunately, there is no chance of running out of compressed air. That’s because its main “ingredient” is air, which is literally all around us.
However, compressing air also requires power – a lot of it. Traditionally, that has been the Achilles heel of compressors.
And this has been reflected in the total cost of ownership of compressors, i.e. all of the costs associated with compressing air over their lifetime – from the initial investment to operating expenses and maintenance costs.
Here, the money spent on energy has always dwarfed all other expenses. In fact, the owner of a conventional fixed-speed compressor can anticipate that up to 80% of that total cost of ownership is spent on energy. That not only affects the bottom line of any business using compressed air but also burdens the environment.
However, Atlas Copco has completely changed this equation with the invention of VSD compressors. These three letters – and the technology behind them – have transformed air compression (and manufacturing) forever.
To understand why and how, let’s first look at conventional fixed-speed compressors. As their name indicates, they only have one speed: full power. You turn them on and they deliver their maximum output. That’s great if the respective application requires exactly that much air all the time.
However, the demand for compressed air fluctuates to a significant degree in nearly 90% of compressed air installations. In other words, fixed-speed compressors often produce way more air than is needed, which is a waste of resources.
That’s where VSD compressors enter the picture.
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