What to consider when

sizing your compressed

air system
There are many factors to consider when sizing
compressed air systems such as capacity and pressure,
but also its role in the company short- and long-term.
BY BRIAN MANN DECEMBER 20, 2023

Learning Objectives

• A review of overlooked factors when sizing a compressed air system including dryer purge rate,
compressor control gap and more.
• Types of compressors – fixed and/or variable speed drive compressor – and their impact on efficiency
in a compressed air system.
• Utilizing efficiency data sheets and other tools and formulas in right-sizing a compressed air system.

Compressed air insights

• Selecting the right air compressor is critical for efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
The primary cost of ownership is often electrical power, accounting for up to 80%
over ten years.
• Control gap, often overlooked, occurs when demand falls outside the capacity of
compressors. Careful consideration of compressor types and capacities is
necessary for stable plant pressure.

Selecting an air compressor for a facility presents many questions. The wrong size
compressor can operate at an inefficient part-load condition or lack capacity to meet
the peak demand in the plant, costing plenty in energy costs and down time.
When it comes sizing air compressors, there are often two parameters that come to
mind: capacity and pressure. To be certain, those must be properly specified for the
application to be a successful one.

Another consideration is the role of the compressor in the system. Will it be a base-
loaded compressor that always runs at full capacity, or is it intended to be a trim
compressor, which will run at varying loads?

Selecting the trim compressor entails a host of decisions, not only determining the
appropriate full load capacity but also its turn down capacity (how far below full load
it can operate) and how the turn down capacity compares to the capacity(ies) of the
existing base load air compressor(s). When weighing these considerations, it is not
just the turn down capacity, but also the efficiency of the machine at the part load(s)
at which it will operate.

The compressor selection comes down to a simple question; what is the best
business decision for the organization? In most cases, the best business decision
comes down to the lowest cost of ownership with the highest degree of reliability.
For industrial air compressors, the primary component of the total cost of ownership
(TCO) is often the cost of electrical power.

Energy, efficiency and capacity standards

The U.S. Department of Energy Compressed Air Challenge estimates up to 80% of
the ten-year total cost of ownership of an industrial air compressor is electrical
power. Hence, the efficiency of the compressor, not only at full load, but at the partial
load at which it may operate, become important points of comparison not only
between competing manufacturers, but between competing capacity control
technologies.

As it turns out, there is a lot more to sizing a compressor than actual cubic feet per
minute (acfm) capacity and psig operating pressure. The good news is that there is a
dependable and accessed source of information to help guide the decision-making
process.

Manufacturers participating in the Compressed Air and Gas Institute (CAGI)

performance validation program publish data sheets that provide information
including package power (kW), capacity (acfm), specific power (kW/100 cfm) and
isentropic efficiency at full load. For variable displacement and variable speed-
controlled compressors, the package power, capacity and specific power
information is published for part-load conditions.

The data sheets are available on most manufacturer’s websites or can be accessed
through links found on the CAGI website. Users can navigate to the CAGI Air
Compressor Performance Verification and Testing Results page and access the
participant directory.
Consider the application illustrated in Figure 1. The peak demand for the facility is
between 2,000 and 2,100 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) and occurs 6.34% of
the time. The compressed air system must be capable of meeting this demand. If
this were an intermittent demand, the application of controlled storage would be
appropriate. In this case, the demand is sustained, and the system must be capable
of regularly generating the stated capacity.

Figure 1: Histogram of demand. Courtesy: Hitachi Global Air Power

The application engineer must also consider the other ranges of demand because
the plant operates at other demand levels for much of the time. Specifically, the
range of 1,400 to 1,500 scfm must be given priority as the plant operates in that
range of demand about one-third of the time, or 56 hours per week.
 Table 1: Tabulated demand data. Courtesy: Hitachi Global Air Power

In this example, oil flooded rotary screw air compressors will be considered, but the
philosophy would be applicable to oil free rotary screw compressors as well. The
common approach to sizing compressors of providing a baseload, trim-load and
back-up compressor will be used. This arrangement can be desirable as it represents
N+1 redundancy to minimize the risk of unplanned downtime, while providing the
lowest cost of acquisition among alternatives.

Mind the control gap

A commonly overlooked aspect of sizing a combination of air compressors is
control gap. Control gap occurs when the demand for compressed air falls into a
range where neither the variable speed drive (VSD) nor the fixed speed compressor
or compressors can effectively meet the demand. The result is often unstable plant
pressure as the on-line compressor(s) seek to meet the demand which falls outside
of the turn down range for the trim compressor.

In a two-compressor system, control gap can often be avoided by selecting

compressors where the turn down range of the trim compressor is greater than the
capacity of the fixed speed (baseload) compressor. The control gap is often
associated with VSD controlled compressors but can be present with any capacity
control technology.

For this application, a VSD trim compressor and a fixed speed base compressor will
be selected to meet the demand profile. A back-up compressor will be selected to
provide N+1 reliability.

The demand data provided in this example is shown in scfm, while the compressor
capacity data is shown in acfm. The demand and capacity information must be
expressed in consistent terms so the compressors can be properly sized. For this
example, the demand data will be converted to acfm.

In many applications, the end user will stipulate the compressed air system must
always provide a defined capacity at the specified pressure and air purity. Often, the
capacity is expressed as scfm, and the design conditions (extreme summer and
winter) are provided.

In the case of a rotary screw air compressor, the combined effects of altitude,
temperature and humidity present in summer conditions result in the de-rating of the
compressor capacity when the capacity is expressed as scfm instead of acfm. The
relationship between acfm and scfm is provided below.
Where:

• ps = standard pressure (14.5 psia for CAGI standard

conditions)
• pa = actual atmospheric pressure at location (corrected
for altitude)
• ppwv = partial pressure of water vapor at saturated
condition, actual temperature
• rh = relative humidity at site conditions
• Ta = actual or design temperature
• Ts = standard temperature
• For this application, the specified site summer
conditions are as follows:
• 1250 ft above sea level (14.1 psia atmospheric pressure)
• 90 °F (0.698 psia, not corrected for altitude)
• 60% relative humidity

Substituting values into the equation:

The CAGI data sheet shown in Figure 2 illustrates the full-load capacity of the
compressor as 1,660 acfm @ 125 psig. Also note its turndown range is 1,225 acfm
(1,660 acfm at full load – 435 acfm at minimum flow). A base load compressor
complementing the trim compressor that provides a minimum capacity of 669 acfm
is needed so the compressor meets the total demand required by the plant.
 Figure 2: This combination of compressors meets the identified criteria; the total
capacity matches the required system capacity (when adjusted for summer operating
conditions), and the turn down capacity of the variable speed compressor exceeds the
capacity of the fixed speed compressor, so that the potential for control gap is
mitigated. Courtesy: Hitachi Global Air Power

VSD and fixed speed

Another point of interest is the efficiency of the VSD controlled compressor (CAGI
data sheet on the left). At the 1,500 to 1,600 scfm demand level (corrected to 1663
acfm for summer conditions) the VSD compressor is very near full load, representing
an efficient operating point. Below this point, the VSD compressor will be on its
control curve, where the specific power begins to increase (less efficient). However,
the increase in package specific power is reasonable, such that at minimum flow, the
specific power is 21.9 kW/100 cfm. What happens when the demand exceeds the
capacity of the VSD controlled compressor? The fixed speed compressor comes on-
line, and operates at full load, contributing its capacity to the plant demand. The VSD
compressor output falls to 958 acfm, as it is reduced by an amount equal to the
capacity of the fixed speed compressor (702 acfm). The reduced output of the VSD
air compressor falls at a location on the control curve slightly more efficient than the
full load specific power for the compressor.

In this scenario, the capacity of the back-up air compressor would need to be
equivalent to the VSD controlled compressor, as it is the largest in the system.
With the technology available today in many of the on-board microprocessor
controls, two VSD controlled compressors of equal capacity could be selected and
operated in a load-sharing arrangement, where they modulate together to meet the
varying demand. Fewer, smaller compressors often represent larger initial and
maintenance costs, however.

Don’t forget the purge

It would appear the specifier has completed the analysis and is ready to place the
purchase order for the compressors. Perhaps he or she is, or perhaps he or she has
overlooked an important consideration: dryer purge loss.

If the plant is using regenerative compressed air dryers, the purge rate contributes to
the total demand. It is also important to remember that most manufacturers state
the average purge rate on their equipment specifications. The instantaneous purge
rate can be higher. It is important to have a clear understanding of the dryer
operation and its National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) purge cycle
to accurately determine the demand associated with the dryers.

Maintenance matters
One last thought about sizing a compressor, or more appropriately, about selecting a
compressor. An industrial air compressor, if properly maintained, should last ten
years or more. Often, the compressor distributor will provide maintenance and
service for the life of the compressor (and the associated equipment).

Considering the capabilities of the service provider is an important part of the

selection process. It is so important the Compressed Air Challenge Best Practices
for Compressed Air Systems includes an entire chapter on the topic, “Guidelines for
Selecting a Compressed Air System Service Provider.” A trusted service team can
ensure the perfectly sized compressed air system performs optimally.

In the end, many factors should be considered when sizing a compressed air system, not
just capacity and pressure. Properly analyzing all variables – VSD, base load, control gap,
dryer purge, and maintenance — will result in the most efficient and reliable system for an
operation.