New Year’s Resolution: Boost Safety, Reliability, and Efficiency of Your Gas Turbine Filterhouse

When that happens, replacing the filter house is one of the most effective ways to extend the life of the turbine asset and recover output by lowering operating differential pressure. Because gas turbines are typically maintained on regular major intervals, the turbine itself can outlast the OEM-supplied inlet system by many years. Upgrading the inlet restores safe, reliable, and efficient operation.

Act now, not later – Here’s why

Delaying inlet upgrades and retrofits increases the risk of unplanned outages, with costly downtime and lost production. Common failure modes include:

• Safety hazards: Corroded walls and floors compromise walkways and maintenance access, and can allow uncontrolled ingress points.
• Air and water bypass: Gaps or degraded seals let unfiltered air and even rainwater bypass the media, accelerating fouling and corrosion downstream.
• Rising pressure drop: Saturated or damaged elements drive up ΔP, cutting turbine output and raising fuel burn.

Proactive replacement during a planned outage protects personnel, safeguards assets, and helps you avoid emergency shutdowns.

Plan the Project, Protect the Budget

Effective budget planning ensures your power plant runs safely and efficiently, especially during planned outages. A well-scoped inlet project should:

• Align with outage windows: Bundle structural, filtration, and controls work to minimize total downtime.
• Account for long-lead items: Filter modules, frames, droplet eliminators, coalescers, and structural steel often drive schedule.
• Quantify ROI drivers: Lower ΔP (more MW), less fouling (fewer washes), longer filter life (fewer changeouts), and reduced corrosion-related repairs.
• Include lifecycle costs: Consider energy savings, maintenance labor, media replacement cycles, and spare parts strategy.

Upgrade Options That Make a Difference

1) From Static to Pulse-Style Filtration

If you aim to extend intervals between final filter changes and cut maintenance downtime, converting from static elements to a pulse-style inlet can help. Pulse systems shed dust on-line to maintain lower average ΔP.

2) Higher Efficiency for Coastal or Fouling Environments

For sites facing salt-laden or fine aerosol challenges, upgrading to HEPA E12-grade final filtration reduces compressor fouling and frequency of offline washing. To keep pressure drop in check.

3) Better Moisture Management

If moisture ingestion has been raising pressure drop and reducing output, add droplet eliminators and coalescing pre-filters. Properly staged moisture removal protects downstream media, stabilizes ΔP, and improves availability in fog, rain, and mist conditions.

4) Integrating Evaporative Cooling and Bleed Heating

Performance and reliability depend on more than filtration alone:

• Evaporative cooling systems: systems increase inlet air density to improve turbine mass flow and output. Correct selection and placement paired with robust mist elimination, protects media and downstream components while delivering power gains.
• Bleed heating: Prevents icing and condensation in cold, humid, or rapidly changing ambient conditions. Properly engineered bleed heating integration with the inlet and filtration train helps maintain safe operation without excessive thermal stress or avoidable pressure losses.

Coordinating these systems with the filter house upgrade ensures the entire inlet train works as a unified, safe, and efficient system across all seasons.

Nederman Pneumafil: Proven Expertise from Survey to Startup

Nederman Pneumafil brings decades of experience in gas turbine filter house inlets, evaporative cooling systems, and bleed heating. Our team can:

• Survey your existing inlet to diagnose corrosion, bypass paths, and airflow maldistribution.
• Engineer the right solution: static or pulse-style, HEPA E12 upgrades, moisture stages, structural modifications, and controls integration.
• Design, supply, and install complete systems tailored to your operating environment and performance targets.
• Plan the outage with you: structural work, media installation, and commissioning to protect schedule and budget.

The Results You Can Expect

• Improved safety: Restored structural integrity, safer access, and controlled airflow paths.
• Higher reliability: Less fouling, stabilized ΔP, and fewer forced outages.
• Better efficiency: Lower average pressure drop, reduced auxiliary power, increased turbine output, and optimized fuel consumption.
• Longer asset life: Corrosion-resistant construction and moisture control that protect downstream equipment.

Our engineering team will collaborate closely with yours to identify the best design solution, boosting output while enhancing the reliability and safety of your turbine.