What Is Smart Air?

The basic principle of Smart Air is that investing in green technology not only leads to environmental sustainability, but also represents substantial economic gains.

Compressors are vital for your on board applications. Choosing the right compressed air system can offer your vessel and your company a potentially large upside – both  financially and environmentally.

With this in mind, TMC has introduced Smart Air, a compressor technology that offers precise control of the compressor speed. This means that Smart Air compressors runs more efficiently than traditional compressors.

“As a result, Smart Air offers significant reduction in energy consumption, CO2 emissions and operational costs,” says Hans Petter Tanum,Director Sales and Business Development. .

Air quality

Another aspect of compressed air production, which also impacts the environmental footprint, is air quality.

Producing compressed air means processing ambient air so that it reduces its volume to create a forceful current of air. This process is essential on board any ship or vessel as compressed air is the energy source for a number of critical applications at sea. However, as an energy source, compressed air has a challenge: The humidity and contamination from the original air volume still exists, and can therefore lead to several negative consequences on deck, instrument, control and process air system. For example:

• Robbing the system of useful power
• Causing rust and leaks in air lines
• Decreasing the power and efficiency of air driven equipment
• Increasing maintenance and repair expenses due to lubricants wash-out of air driven equipment and abrasion of wear surfaces
• Instrument failures due to contaminants and corrosion

TMC’s Smart Air compressed air systems consist of a package that includes compressors and air treatment equipment. A properly managed compressed air system will result in clean, dry and stable air supply being delivered at the correct pressure in a reliable and cost-effective manner.

Compressed air treated the right way is one of the most important energy sources on board .

“We have unfortunately seen cases where customers have made costly replacements of valves, tools and instruments downstream of the compressors due to damage caused by air impurities and/or humidity. We have also seen that poor air quality have caused total blockages of bulk handling pipes, damaged air winches and damaged control valves. Bad air quality has even resulted in problems with maneuvering the ship.

The paradox is that these issues are easy to avoid if you choose the right compressor,” says Hans Petter Tanum..