Compressed Air System Design

Challenge: How to properly design an air compressor system, particularly for specialized systems, complex installations or in facilities with limited space.

Myth: Knowing how much “peak psi” performance will be required is all you need to know.

There are six critical elements that must be considered in the design of any new system. These are demand, air quality, supply, storage, distribution and control. Each must be evaluated separately and more importantly, in combination to achieve optimum results.

Learn from us: To function properly and cost-effectively, your air compressor system must be carefully designed to fill the special needs of your unique application. There are six critical elements that must be considered in the design of any new system. These are demand, air quality, supply, storage, distribution and control. Each must be evaluated separately and more importantly, in combination to achieve optimum results.

The Hope Group responds: Drawing from its more than 40 years of compressed air system specification and installation experience, The Hope Group’s team of qualified engineers and technicians stand ready to put your air compressor system on line, on time and on budget. From complex installation and challenging environments (high temperature, freezing cold – you name it), we have the practical experience to lay out a system to meet your needs.

It’s important to create a system layout that takes a lot of variables into consideration, such as, distance, diameters, equipment order, location, accessories and connection types. These are not items that you want to leave to chance or luck. The Hope Group can help you make the right decisions.

Let’s design an air compressor system:

Using special tools and special know-how we will design a system for you:

  • Determine compressed air demand
  • Determine supply requirements
  • Determine storage needs
  • Determine the best distribution system
  • Determine appropriate control system

Tanks Provide Adequate Storage

While it is often overlooked, a proper tank and receiver system can contribute to improved reliability and efficiency. It is recommended that a wet tank be installed to provide a first stage of moisture separation and a dry tank downstream for true storage. Single tank systems should allow for three to five gallons of storage for every one cfm in air capacity. Wet tanks and multi-purpose tanks should include an automatic drain trap. Allowing water to build up in the tank can cause delivery and reliability problems.

Drain Traps Remove Moisture

It’s important to remove moisture but not at the expense of wasting precious compressed air. A proper drain trap will remove accumulated moisture from clean air treatment components, which contributes to efficient and reliable performance. Drain traps should be included on dryers, moisture removal filters and tanks. Capacitance-sensor actuated drains provide excellent value for the money. They open only when needed to release compressed air condensate but not valuable compressed air. In most communities it is not possible or desirable to for the moisture collected in these traps to be disposed of in municipal waste systems. Cartridge based condensate management systems provide an easy and economical solution to this problem.