Knoll Toronto Manufacturing Plant Receives Toronto Hydro Energy Conservation Leadership Award

Early in March 2017, the Knoll Toronto manufacturing plant received the Toronto Hydro Energy Conservation Leadership Award for its optimization of air compressors. Toronto Hydro is the largest municipal electricity distribution company in Canada. Facilities engineer Zourheir Arzouni identified an opportunity to modify the frequency and volume of air supply to the plant’s equipment.

Equipment at the Toronto Manufacturing Plant requires air for their proper functioning, and that air is provided by the plants compressors, which consume substantial amounts of electricity. Normally, these compressors run constantly to make sure equipment performance is not compromised.

The plan was to lower the consumption of electricity by having the compressors run only when needed and at a time of day when total energy consumption is at a low. Arzouni used a master controller in conjunction with a technology that allowed him to make minute increases and decreases in the compressor’s motor speed, thereby having much better control over energy use. After many hours of work, the air compressors’ control and operative system was greatly improved, resulting in a net annual savings of $1.7 million kWh of electricity – enough energy to power 200 homes.

For more than a quarter of a century, Knoll has acted on its commitment to sustainability in the design and manufacturing of products. The company constantly measures its performance against ambitious standards and a lean manufacturing philosophy.