Parker Hannifin unveil Air Saver Units

Innovative device cuts energy consumption by 50% and improves efficiency in air-blowing applications

PARKER Hannifin, global leaders in motion and control technologies, have unveiled their innovative Air Saver Unit, which is said to reduce air consumption by up to 50% and improve efficiency in air-blowing applications.

With air-blowing activities consuming almost half of all compressed air used in plants, the Air Saver Unit uses pulsed-air technology to help reduce this resource burden. At its core is a switching valve that converts continuous air blow into pulsed air blow without the need for any additional external control. Put simply, it creates air that is blown in a series of high-speed on and off pulses; when the blow is off, there is no air consumption, resulting in fewer tank recharging cycles.

Aside from a sizeable reduction in air consumption, the Air Saver Unit is said to offer other major advantages, including savings in compressor power, a reduction in overall CO2 emissions and a significant contribution to energy-saving activities.

The Air Saver Unit is also extremely easy to install. At plants using electrically operated   solenoid valves to control air blowing, the units can be quickly and easily retrofitted to immediately deliver a reduction in air consumption with no significant system changes, ie PLC program reconfiguration. For plants using manual ball valves, there are also passive versions of the Air Saver Unit series; these do not require any electrical power.

In total there are seven models in the Air Saver Unit range, offering flows (at 5 bar) ranging from 150 to 15,000 litres/min.