Cumbria based Bells of Lazonby wanted to invest in energy efficient compressed air equipment with Heat Recovery to maximise energy savings.
Compressed air is used throughout the bakery’s manufacturing site, powering pneumatics for food-processing machinery and food depositors. It is the ideal energy source for food production — safe, clean, and reliable — particularly where washing is part of the process, making it an effective alternative to electrical systems.
Over the years, as Bells of Lazonby has grown, so too has its need for compressed air.
Having previously used systems from other manufacturers, the bakery turned to Lakeland Fluid Power and HPC KAESER to deliver improved performance, efficiency, and reliability.
Harnessing Energy Efficiency
Richard Rigg, Head of Engineering, explains:
“With increasing energy prices, we realised the potential for compressed air energy-efficiency gains, CO₂ reduction, and cost savings through heat recovery.
"Initial heat-recovery tests on a 400-litre hot water cylinder — used for hand and utensil washing — reduced our electricity usage from an average of 44 kWh per day to zero. We originally expected to use the recovered heat for preheating only but found it capable of fully heating the water supply.
"We also used heat recovery to preheat water for a smaller utensil washing machine. Before installation, this consumed 70 kWh per day; afterwards, just 15 kWh per day — saving 55 kWh daily at an energy price of 15 p/kWh.
"We quickly realised the potential and decided to maximise it.”
The Challenge
- Reliability: Combine two independent compressed-air systems into one centralised system to ensure redundancy and 100% reliability.
- Energy Efficiency: Select the optimum compressed-air equipment, integrating existing assets with new technology for best performance.
- Compressed Air Quality: Meet BRC food-grade contact and non-contact compressed air standards — ISO 8573-1:2010 Class 1, 2, 1.
- Heat Recovery: Relocate and integrate the separate plant rooms into a single, centralised area suitable for heat recovery to supply both hot water and warm exhaust air.
