Save Money While Maximizing Compressed Air Productivity

Where to Start? Measure.
You can’t build a cost saving strategy around unknowns, so begin by measuring your compressed air system’s energy consumption, flow rates and operating air pressure. This will provide baseline values, help to identify problem areas and compute actual cost savings from any improvements you make. A great way to analyze a compressed air system is to draw a pressure profile that shows the pressure drops through a system. These pressure measurements give feedback for control adjustments, determine pressure drops across components and help to determine system operating pressures.

1.
Turn It Off. Set your machines to switch off nights and weekends.
There are 168 hours in a week, but most compressed air systems only run between 60‐100 hours at anything near full capacity. Depending on your shift pattern, turning your ABAC compressor off evenings and weekends could reduce your energy bills up to 20%.
2.
Fix Existing Leaks. Start with the oldest and biggest pipes.
A quarter‐inch air leak at 100 psi costs more than $2,500 a year! Pipe systems older than five years can have leaks of up to 25%. You must spend money to compress air, so air that leaks out is money wasted. Fix leaks, save money. Keep in mind that approximately 80% of air leaks are not audible; therefore, third‐party help is a necessity to thoroughly detect and minimize these problems.
3.
Prevent New Leaks. Dry and clean your compressed air.
Prevention beats cure, so be proactive and look inside your piping system. A clean, dry pipe means you have good quality air and should have no corrosion issues. Dust in the pipe is caused by particles in your air. If you don’t filter the air, or if your filter is clogged, you’ll have pressure drops and increase the risk of contaminating your end product. Sludge in the pipe is bad news and must be fixed immediately. In addition to the problems that occur with dust in the pipe, your pipes will corrode very quickly (if you see sludge it’s likely started already) and leaks will greatly increase. Dried and filtered compressed air keeps piping clean.
4.
Reduce Pressure. Run at required pressures, not beyond.
Each 2 psig reduction cuts energy consumption by 1%. Check the pressure at which your system is running and don’t keep turning it up to compensate for leaks or drops in pressure due to piping problems or clogged filters. Fix these issues and the chances are you will be able to actually drop the pressure. A central supply side controller can greatly reduce the operational pressure band and orchestrate air production much more efficiently and effectively.
5.
Check Drains. Are your condensate drains stuck open?
Condensate drains on timers should be adjusted periodically to ensure they open as intended and aren’t stuck open. Better yet, replace timer drains with zero‐loss drains to stop wasting compressed air.
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6. Review Piping Infrastructure. Many systems aren’t optimized.
Your piping system design should optimize transfer of compressed air at the desired flow and pressure to the point of use. Increasing the
size of your pipe from 2” to 3” can reduce pressure drop up to 50%. Shortening the distance air has to travel can further reduce pressure
drops by about 20‐40%. The more flow you try to put through a pipe the greater the pressure drop will be. Pressure drop in a pipe
increases with the square of the increase in flow. For example, if you triple the flow, the pressure drop will increase nine times what it
was! Air distribution piping should be large enough in diameter to minimize pressure drop.
7. Change Filters Systematically. Not every once in a while.
Just as you change oil in your car at scheduled intervals to ensure optimum performance, change filters in
your air compressor and air system regularly to ensure air quality and to prevent pressure drops. Inspect
and replace filters systematically to ensure the quality of your air. Go beyond the air compressor and
compressor room. There are several air line and point of use filters within your facility and they are just as
important to maintain as the air compressor and air compressor room filters.
8. Recover Heat. Compressing air generates heat – reuse it!
It’s simple physics that compressing air gives off heat, and you can recover as much as 90% of the heat for use in your operation. For
example, you can produce hot water for washrooms or direct warm air into a workspace, warehouse, loading dock, or entryway. You’ll find
that the savings can really add up!
9. Emphasize Proper Maintenance. Ignoring maintenance costs more.
As with most industrial machinery, a compressor runs more efficiently when regularly maintained. Proper compressor maintenance cuts
energy costs around 1% and helps prevent breakdowns that result in downtime and lost production. Protect your reputation and profits
with proper maintenance.
10. Stop inappropriate use of compressed air. Cut these to save even more.
Inappropriate uses of compressed air include any application that can be done more effectively or more efficiently by a method other than
compressed air. For example, high pressure air is often used for cooling or applications where much lower air pressure is effective.