Tom Parker Ltd Promotes Pioneering EARS Technology

The role compressed air equipment plays in the tyre business is often underestimated. But with the recession causing businesses to think more about energy costs and legislation; and with general opinion swaying us all towards being more ecologically friendly, this is something that the pneumatic experts at Tom Parker Ltd are hoping to change, with the launch of the Exhausted Air Recycling System or EARS. EARS is designed to capture the exhausted air from pneumatic tools and recycle this otherwise wasted energy back to the compressor, which improves efficiency and therefore saves money.

Because the new technology centres on recycling wasted exhaust air it represents a major advance in compressed air technology. It does this by running two lines between the compressor and the pneumatic tool in a way not dissimilar to veins and arteries in your own body – the primary airline acts like an artery sending out “clean” air to power the tool, while a secondary line is like a vein and returns used, or exhausted air, back to the compressor. By capturing and reusing this exhausted air, it reduces environmental pollution in the workplace with no airborne contaminants such as oil, dust or other pollutants being released. However it is also quieter, comfortable and more energy efficient due to higher output flows from the compressor, which maximises its power consumption and operating life.

Closed loop system purportedly adds comfort, saves money and extends equipment life

Tom Parker’s use of the EARS  technology in the UK can be traced back to the close links the company has established with system providers in Europe where workforce comfort is regarded as a priority. As a result, Tom Parker Ltd has made it the company’s mission to help bring those better working conditions back here to the UK. And what’s more the EARS closed loop system can reportedly reduce noise levels by up to 80 per cent, helping employees to work in a much safer, comfortable and more pleasant environment.

The technology is particularly impressive when it comes to this last point. Without claiming any kind of scientific accuracy, when Tyres & Accessories visited Tom Parker’s Preston headquarters in the course of research this article, staff demonstrated the system in the company’s new demo van (see textbox). Without going over the top, the difference is night and day. Imagine how much louder a deliberately over-revved engine is compared to a quiet idling sound and you get some idea. But even with the idling sound of the compressor, the noise from the pneumatic tooling was significantly reduced, and the air volume output of the EARS compressor was virtually doubled. With this in mind, you can imagine how top end car and tyre dealerships could use this technology to take the quality of their service up a notch.

30% of compressed air energy ‘wasted’

Did you know that 30 per cent of energy used in compressed air projects is released into the atmosphere? And it’s worth remembering that over a five-year period and average of 85 per cent of the costs associated with operating a compressed air system derive from the electricity used to generate and dry the compressed air. With these facts in mind Tom Parker Ltd aims to publicise the benefits of EARS, which if used to its full potential, can make significant inroads into these costs by reducing energy consumption by up to 40 per cent year-on-year. However, according to Tom Parker’s sales director Richard Parker, in many cases the efficiency of the EARS system also enables compressor users to switch to a much smaller compressor than previously used, delivering further cost savings.

The way this works is that, as the returned exhausted air is at a significantly higher pressure than the surrounding atmosphere, less energy is required to return it to operating pressure. This is because within the closed loop, air pressure and volumetric flow remain almost constant. In fact, results across a whole spectrum of industrial sectors indicate up to 80 per cent improvement in compressor efficiency. As EARS doesn’t have to work as hard as conventional compressor systems, less heat is created. And, as the system is closed, condensate is reportedly reduced. Together with shorter run times, reduced heat and less condensate, compressor and tool life are also said to be extended.

Retrofit or complete system options

Anyone interested in using technology such as this will be pleased to learn that it is not simply a case of buying a completely new system. Of course that is an option, but Tom Parker representatives told T& A that garages can in most cases take advantage of a manifold-based retrofit option. Available for screw-type and piston compressors of 2.2kW to 160kW, the retrofit patented EARS manifold feeds exhausted air back to the compressor and is supported by a range of accessories including delivery and return air lines, new air tool options and conversion adaptors for the majority of pneumatic tools currently used.

According to the company, because of the “modest” size of investment associated with the EARS system, it can provide “a particularly quick payback.” And, because of the lower carbon emissions, users may also qualify for a Carbon Trust interest-free loan. As sales director Richard Parker remarked: “The remarkable EARS system in action could potentially repay the investment many times over.”