SPECIAL REPORT

Compressed Air System Efficiency:

What you can do today to lower
your operating costs

Sponsored by

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Uncover Factors that Drive Up
Your Compressed Air Costs
Your guide to spotting and managing compressed air expenses that are
not always obvious at purchase
By Sue Benes, FS-Elliott
With all capital equipment
purchases, the initial cost is not the
only expense to consider. Often
there are associated costs that are
not always apparent at the time of
purchase and can significantly
impact operational budgets.
Organizations are becoming more
aware that the main cost in the
life-cycle of an air compressor is
energy usage, followed by mainte-
nance of the compressor, with the
initial capital investment being the
lowest of the three costs. Air audits
are a great way to identify these
costs, but it is important to
understand how each of these
impacts your bottom line and what
steps can be taken to minimize the
overall life-cycle cost. This article
reviews how to quickly identify
issues such as energy and mainte-
nance costs, in addition to not so
obvious items like product
warranty impacts. It also exam-
ines how one company used this
process to save money while
providing a reliable, quality air
source.
PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
ENERGY COSTS
The most commonly used power
source in an industrial setting is
electrical energy. Since the goal of
all facilities is to deliver the larg-
est volume of air using the lowest
amount of energy possible, it is
important to understand what the
specific demands are for air capac-
ity and how your existing installa-
tions are managing those demands.
The following are key elements
to calculating the energy require-
ments of a compressor, and Figure
1 shows how each element impacts
annual energy cost.
1. Power and Motor Efficiency ‒
Every electrical motor has an ef-
ficiency rating, which is the per-
centage of electrical input power
that the motor uses to power the
air compressor. To calculate this
for your air compressor, locate
the motor efficiency in the mo-
tor manufacturer’s data sheet
and the horsepower from the
motor nameplate.
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2. Service Factor ‒ Service factor
is a rating applied to the mo-
tor that determines how far a
motor can operate over the rated
horsepower without damaging
the motor. For example, a mo-
tor with a service factor of 1.15
means that the motor can run at
15% over its rated horsepower.
It is not a good practice to size
motors to operate continuously
above the rated load in the ser-
vice factor area.
3. Running Hours and Energy
Rate ‒ The running hours are
the number of hours the air
compressor is operating at the
given power value and is typical-
ly identified on a per year basis.
The running hours are usually
grouped by labor shifts due to air
demand changes between shifts.
The energy rate for your area
can be obtained from your local
power company.
FULL LOAD VS. PARTIAL LOAD
ENERGY USE
In an operating environment, there
are usually demand cycles when
a facility will require more or less
compressed air during certain
times of the day or week. The
majority of air compressors are
designed with sophisticated control
systems that modulate along an
operating range to meet demand.
The demand could result in the air
compressor running at full load
 specific demands are for air capacity and how your existing installations are managing
those demands. There are five key elements to calculating the energy requirements of a
compressor; these include rated power, motor efficiency, service factor, running hours, and
PLANT
energy SERVIC
rate. (See ES:
Figure 1 –SPEC IAL REPORT
Air Compressor Energy Cost Calculation.)

consistently, partial load, or modu-

RATED POWER
lating between the two. Because
Horsepower rating of the motor powering the air compressor; found
of this, it is best to identify when on the motor nameplate.
your compressors are the most ef- SERVICE FACTOR
ficient and balance the compressor How far above the rated horsepower a motor can
operate without damaging the motor; found on the
load for the most efficient opera-
motor nameplate.
tion to meet system demand. The
RUNNING HOURS
most efficient operating points can
Number of hours the air compressor
be identified by the compressor operates on a yearly basis.
manufacturer or an auditor. When
ENERGY RATE
estimating the energy consumption Current cost of energy from
of an air compressor, many audi- your local power supplier.
tors reference data sheets located
on www.CAGI.org, which features RATED SERVICE RUNNING ENERGY
POWER x FACTOR x HOURS x RATE ANNUAL
the full load power consumption
MOTOR EFFICIENCY
= ENERGY COST
of most rotary screw air compres-
sors. For all other types, such as
centrifugal or reciprocating, it is
MOTOR EFFICIENCY
best to ask the manufacturer for a
Operating efficiency of the motor;
data sheet with the full load energy
found on the motor nameplate.
consumption and partial load ef-
ficiencies of the machine.
FigureFigure 1 –Air Compressor
1. Air Compressor Energy
Energy Cost Cost Calculation
Calculation

SYSTEM OVER PRESSURIZING 1. Power and Motor Efficiency

One common finding during an Everyadditional electrical
electrical motor energy israting, whichsome
has an efficiency is theform of maintenance
percentage of electrical to keep
air audit is that the facility is op- inputrequired
power thatfor
theamotor uses to pressure
discharge power the air compressor.
operatingThe National Electrical
efficiently. A mainte-
erating their compressors well overManufacturers
increase ofAssociation (NEMA) has released guidelines for motor efficiency.
1 psi. Therefore, a 20 nance review done during an audit
the required system pressure. For Although there is a wide
psi increase range of efficiencies,
in discharge pressure a good ruleuncover
can of thumbhidden
is the older andthat a
costs
example, the compressed air appli-smaller
wouldthe compressor motor
require 10% is, theenergy.
more less efficient itfacility
is. As anmay
example, a 100 HPispremium
not realize a result
efficiency motor typically has a motor efficiency rating at around 96%. To calculate this for
cation may require 100 psi; how- Plugging this into our equation of their compressed air system. The
your air compressor, locate the motor efficiency in the motor manufacturer’s data sheet and
ever, the compressors deliver air at from Figure 1 would result in following are three key compressor
the horsepower from the motor nameplate.
120 psi to overcome losses in the an additional $5,258 per year in maintenance cost areas.
2. Service Factor
compressed air delivery system. energy costs due to system over-
Service factor is a rating applied to the motor that determines how far a motor can operate
Losses may be due to filtration pressurizing. A properly trained CONSUMABLES
over the rated horsepower without damaging the motor. For example, a motor with a service
after compressor discharge, poor air auditor can provide several All air compressors rely on con-
factor of 1.15 means that the motor can operate at 15% over its rated horsepower. It is
piping design, or leaks in the air solutions to reduce pressure drop sumable products, such as filters,
not a good practice to size motors to operate continuously above the rated load in the
system. The greater the discharge in an air system. separators, and oil, which need to
pressure of the air compressor the be replaced on a regular basis. The
more energy required to compress The Hidden Costs of Air
MAINTENANCE Compressor Operation by
COSTS Sue Benes,
amount FS-Elliott Co., LLC Page
of consumable products 3
the air. As a rule of thumb, 0.5% Every piece of machinery requires varies greatly based on whether

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the compressor is an oil-flooded or
oil-free machine. Figure 2 shows a
comparison of the compressed air
systems of an oil-free and oil-lubri-
cated compressor after discharge.
In addition to the filtration
required to keep the air clean,
there is the cost of oil itself. It is
recommended to change the oil
every 6-12 months in an oil-lubri-
cated compressor. To operate one
oil-lubricated compressor, many
facilities pay between $3,000 and
$6,000 per year for oil. Oil-free
compressors still require oil, but
since the oil never goes into the
compression process, they only
require oil changes every 2-3
years. Depending on the operat-
ing location, there may also be
disposal fees for properly remov-
ing oil from the site.
CONDENSATE REMOVAL
Condensate is generated from both
oil-flooded and oil-free compres-
sors. The difference is that for
oil-flooded machines the oil mixes
with the condensate creating water/
oil mixture that is regulated at the
state and local level. This con-
densate must either be properly
disposed of or require another fil-
tration system to filter the oil out of
the water. Both alternatives can be
a significant burden on operational
expenses, with proper conden-
sate disposal costing upwards of
$50,000 per year.
PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
Figure 2. Oil-lubricated and oil-free compressor system comparison.
AIREND REPLACEMENT
In most cases, an air auditor or
manufacturer may recommend
replacing or overhauling your entire
airend to improve performance.
Airend replacement can cost up
to 70% of the original equipment
price. The lifetime of an airend
varies depending on the type of
compressor (rotary screw, recipro-
cating, centrifugal) and whether it
is oil-lubricated or oil-free. Be sure
to ask the manufacturer or auditor
the expected lifetime of the airend
and how this is addressed in the
warranty of the machine.
FINISHED PRODUCT IMPACTS
Often it is overlooked that when an
oil-flooded compressed air source
is used, trace oil could transfer and
affect the finished product. For
some, this may not be an issue, but
for companies that produce textiles,
food products, or even medicines,
clean, dry air is essential to the
manufacturing process. Once the oil
is injected into the air system, as in
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an oil-flooded machine, it is impos-
sible to produce 100% oil-free air.
ISO 8573-1 establishes guidelines for
purity classes of compressed air. It is
critical for any manufacturer to ask
themselves what level of oil can be
tolerated in their production paths.
THE VALUE OF AIR SYSTEM
AUDITING
Although it can be a daunting pro-
cess, reviewing the entire life-cycle
cost of a compressor is essential
to understanding the true cost of
your purchase. This includes all the
costs the compressor will require to
operate. An air audit will provide
a baseline of how your current
system is operating, and can be
done with little to no impact on the
production process. An air system
audit can encompass the following:
• Energy usage data logging – Log
the energy air compressors are
consuming.
• A ir measurement – Identify a fac-
tory’s true compressed air demand
and operating schedule.
 PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT

• A ir leak detection and control –

A SIMPLE AIR AUDIT SAVES THOUSANDS Identify how much air is being
Rising energy costs forced an automotive component manufacturer located lost due to leaks.
in North Carolina to reevaluate where energy was being utilized in their • A ir quality – Measure the
current plant operations. Knowing that they already had an issue with their amount of particulates in the air
five oil-flooded rotary screw compressors forcing a shutdown in produc- system, including water and oil
tion from lack of air supply, they thought they would start by looking at which may have an impact on the
their compressed air system. The facilities manager reached out to a local efficiency of the machines.
compressor distributor to conduct an audit of their compressed air system. • Maintenance review – Assess the
effectiveness of the current main-
The findings of the air audit were: tenance plan.
• Monitoring and control program
• The lack of air supply was due to insufficiently sized air compressors.
– Make recommendations to
• The facility was using extra energy to operate their air compressors 10 psi maintain optimum efficiency.
over the required system pressure.
While most manufacturers track the
• Consumable spending reached upwards of $50,000 per year to operate
more obvious expenses such as
all five oil-flooded rotary screw compressors.
maintenance and capital equipment
The recommendations from the air audit were: costs, many are unaware how much
they are spending on condensate
1. Replace three oil-flooded rotary screw compressors with a more efficient
removal, airend replacement and
oil-free centrifugal compressor and keep the remaining two rotary screw
consumable products such as filters,
compressors running.
separators, and oil. Often these
2. R
 emove filtration that was required by the three oil-flooded rotary screw seemingly minor costs that are not
compressors. always apparent at the time of
equipment purchase result in
3. M
 inimize energy consumption by operating all compressors at the pres-
thousands of dollars in unnecessary
sure demanded by the applications.
expenses. Shedding light on these
The benefits of the new air system were: hidden items to understand the total
system costs at your plant is the first
•D
 ue to higher efficiencies and lower discharge pressures, the facility was
step towards a more efficient
able to meet their air demand requirement while saving $100,000 per year
manufacturing process.
in electrical energy costs.

•D
 ue to the amount of energy saved by switching from their previous set up Sue R. Benes is Polaris+

to the new set up, the manufacturer was also eligible for a rebate program Product Marketing Man-

through their local energy provider. The oil-free centrifugal compressor ager for FS-Elliott. Sue

required fewer consumable maintenance items and the manufacturer was manages FS-Elliott’s Polaris+ product

able to reduce their annual air compressor maintenance costs by $25,000. line of centrifugal compressors and is re-

sponsible for matching industrial require-

ments with current or future products.

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Energy-Efficient Air
More than a dozen ways to optimize your compressed air system
By Ron Marshall, Compressed Air Challenge
You may have heard that
compressed air is one of the most
expensive utilities in an industrial
plant. It is a fact that compressed
air is a poor way to transmit energy
to an industrial machine or tool if
you want superior efficiency. That
being said, it is unlikely you will
convert all your industrial tools and
equipment to direct drive electric,
just based on energy efficiency
alone. Compressed air will never
disappear from industrial plants; it
is a very useful utility.
Compressed air system costs vary
widely in industry. This is because
the efficiency of systems is often
ignored, as there often are more
important issues in running a sys-
tem, especially keeping the pres-
sure at a constant reliable level
and maintaining adequate air
quality so that production pro-
cesses run smoothly. Sometimes
systems run at excellent efficiency,
but at other times things can go
very wrong due to factors like
equipment characteristics, system
design, flow characteristics, and
maintenance levels.
PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
The good news is that something
can be done about it.
This article outlines a dozen ways
to optimize your compressed air
system for increased energy ef-
ficiency. Although certain points
discussed in this article may relate
just to the supply side of the sys-
tem, or to the demand side, every-
thing in compressed air systems is
interrelated – items on the demand
side can affect how the equipment
on the supply side operates. In
all cases the best compressed air
system efficiency occurs when both
sides of the system are optimized at
the same time by taking a holistic
systems approach.
1. TAKE AWARENESS TRAINING
With regards to compressed air,
what you and your employees
don’t know will hurt you. It is
very common to see surprised
looks on people’s faces when they
discover how much it is costing to
run their compressed air systems,
and how little mechanical energy
they receive for the expenditure.
Compressed air system awareness
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training is the best first step in
optimizing your system by teaching
you how to understand your equip-
ment and how it is running. This
knowledge is an important key to
getting your costs in line.
The Department of Energy studied
compressed air awareness train-
ing and found that attending the
training helped more than 75% of
attendees initiate positive action.1
This action includes replacing
inefficient equipment, changing
maintenance procedures, and doing
low cost/no cost measures such as
leak detection and repair to reduce
system waste (Figure 1). The study
found that every dollar invested in
compressed air training paid back
at a rate of more than 80 times the
initial outlay. More information on
training for your staff can be found
by visiting the Compressed Air
Challenge website (www.com-
pressedairchallenge.org).
2. MONITOR YOUR COM-
PRESSED AIR SYSTEM
In order to get a handle on your
compressed air system costs you
must measure your system. A
system that is not measured can’t
be effectively managed. Creating
a baseline is important in under-
standing the challenges involved
in improving the efficiency, air
quality, air stability and reliabil-
ity of your system. To monitor
you must measure key parameters

AVERAGE KW VS AVERAGE CAPACITY WITH LOAD/UNLOAD CAPACITY CONTROL
1 gal/cmf
120
100
80
Percent kW Input
60
40
20
0
0 20
WASTED AIR, WASTED ENERGY
Figure 1. Training attendees learn that typically half the compressed air produced is wasted. Source: Compressed Air Challenge
like pressure, f low, power, and
dew point over a period of time.
Once collected, these data need
to be analyzed to see if there are
any issues.
For example, if your air compres-
sors are rated at 18 kW input for
every 100 cfm output, but system
measurements reveal that your sys-
tem is consuming 40 kW per 100
cfm, this is a pretty clear indicator
that there is likely an efficiency
problem. If you make adjustments
to improve the situation, the system
monitors will tell you if your efforts
were successful, how much you
PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
3 gal/cmf 5 gal/cmf
40 60
Percent Capacity
saved, and if any other important
system parameters have been af-
fected by the change.
More and more factories are
implementing permanent moni-
toring of their compressed air
systems so that system parameters
can constantly be monitored and
adjusted. This is an exceptionally
good practice, but good results can
be still be obtained by bringing in
temporary metering. The measure-
ment and analysis of your system
using the services of a qualified
compressed air auditor can point
you in the right direction.
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10 gal/cmf Ideal Compressor
80 100 120
3. IMPLEMENT EFFICIENT
COMPRESSOR AND DRYER
CONTROL
Are your compressors and dry-
ers being controlled efficiently? In
what control mode are they operat-
ing? It is rare to find a compressed
air system operator with the answer
to these questions. The control of
the air compressors and associated
equipment like air dryers is very
important to the efficiency and reli-
ability of the system.
With regard to individual com-
pressor controls there are various
common modes of operation, with

some more efficient than others.
Some common modes are start/
stop, inlet modulation, load/un-
load, variable capacity control, and
variable speed. Of these modes
inlet modulation is the least ef-
ficient way to control any compres-
sor that is running at part load, but
may be acceptable if the compressor
is always at or near full load. The
variable speed mode is the most
efficient way of controlling com-
pressors at part loads but may not
be the most efficient at full loads.
If you have a mix of control modes,
some thought and planning needs
to go into setting up and coordinat-
ing multiple compressor systems.
A variety of control systems of
varying complexity are widely
available, and can be installed on
compressed air systems to help
coordinate compressors operation.
This includes ensuring that correct
compressors are running at any
given time, that equipment is run-
ning efficiently, and that the system
pressure is kept within specified
limits. Implementing controls
may be as simple as using what
is already built into the onboard
compressor control systems, or by
the use of more complex external
master control systems. There are
system controllers now available
that can also help you monitor your
compressed air system to ensure
your efficiency remains within ac-
ceptable limits.
PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
Air dryer control is often a forgot-
ten element in a system manage-
ment effort, especially where desic-
cant style dryers are used. If your
system has non-cycling refrigerated
dryers, then you can reduce energy
costs by making sure that any spare
dryers are turned off if their associ-
ated compressors are not running.
For desiccant dryers, there are
dewpoint controls that can greatly
reduce the dryer purge demand if
the dryers are experiencing flows
that are less than rated conditions.
It is not uncommon to find desic-
cant air dryer purge making up the
largest component of the com-
pressed air demand in an industrial
plant, in some extreme cases even
more than the demand consumed
by production machinery.
4. IMPROVE EQUIPMENT EFFI-
CIENCY BY REPLACEMENT
The compressed air industry has
changed for the better. Manufac-
turers are very aware that their
customers are interested in energy
efficiency, and so they have rede-
signed their equipment to be more
efficient. When it comes time to
do an expensive major overhaul on
your old air compressors, keep in
mind that the old equipment may
not be up to present day standards.
Rather than repairing an old
inefficient compressor or compres-
sor motor, it may be in your best
interested to look at replacing the
equipment with a brand new more
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efficient unit. This replacement can
reduce operating costs going for-
ward and pay for the replacement
costs in a short period of time.
When calculating the operating
costs savings and choosing what
model of new compressor to pur-
chase the Compressed Air and Gas
Institute (CAGI) data sheets for the
make and model in question can be
used to compare various options.
Most major compressed air compa-
nies have their CAGI sheets pub-
lished on their websites. The data
from these sheets can be used an
inputs for your economic analysis in
deciding to fix or replace and what
compressor to choose. Data sheets
are also available for refrigerated
air dryers and may help you choose
an efficient cycling dryer to replace
an old non-cycling unit containing
ozone depleting refrigerants.
5. INSTALL STORAGE
RECEIVERS
The use of storage receivers can im-
prove your overall system efficiency
in a number of ways. For example,
using a main air receiver at the
compressor room can make load/
unload compressor control more
efficient. In the past it was thought
that lubricated screw type compres-
sors only needed about one gallon
of storage capacity for every cfm of
rated compressor output. But this
has proven incorrect if efficiency is
the goal. The addition of 5 gallons

AVERAGE KW VS AVERAGE CAPACITY WITH LOAD/UNLOAD CAPACITY CONTROL
1 gal/cmf
120
100
80
Percent kW Input
60
40
20
0
0 20
FLOW VS. POWER CURVES
Figure 2. Storage capacity can have a big affect on compressor efficiency at part loads. Source: Compressed Air Challenge
of capacity per cfm or more has
excellent benefits in reducing the
effects of rapid cycling of screw
compressors. Figure 2 shows the
effect of adding storage which
makes the compressor operate more
closely to the “ideal compressor.”
Having significant storage at the
compressor room also can help the
compressors ride out transient high
flow compressed air demands that
might cause another compressor
to start unnecessarily, or might re-
quire a compressor to run continu-
ally and inefficiently in unloaded
mode to avoid low pressure events,
PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
3 gal/cmf 5 gal/cmf
40 60
Percent Capacity
both of which would needlessly
increase power costs,
Well placed storage receivers lo-
cated in industrial facilities on the
plant floor can also be of benefit.
Storage receivers can be placed
near machines that consume short
duration high flows of compressed
air that might cause localized low
pressure events that affects other
pressure sensitive equipment. Use
of storage to supply these transient
events can smooth out these high
flows so as not to cause the start
of an extra air compressor or cause
localized low pressure.
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10 gal/cmf Ideal Compressor
80 100 120
And if production machinery is
being affected by localized pres-
sure fluctuations, storage receivers
protected by check valves can be
installed to protect this equipment
from short term transient low pres-
sure events. This can prevent the
need to increase the plant pressures
to compensate.
6. LOWER THE COMPRESSED
AIR PRESSURE
The higher the discharge pressure,
the more power an air compressor
consumes. A general rule of thumb
states that around 100 psi, and at
a constant flow, the compressor
 PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT

power requirement increases about

1% for each 2 psi increase. There-
fore, if this discharge pressure can
be reduced some compressed air
system savings can be gained.

Why is your system pressure so

high? There could be a number of
reasons, starting with end user re-
quirements, pressure differentials,

Source: Compressed Air Challenge

compressor control characteristics,
etc. Often the operators of the
system don’t know the answer to
the question. Many times the pres-
sure is set at a certain level because
that is the rating of the compressor.
It is important to know what your
actual pressure requirements are, HIGH PRESSURE
Figure 3. It is important to know what your actual pressure requirements are, and realize that sup-
and realize that supplying excess plying excess pressure causes your compressors to consume more power than necessary.
pressure causes your compressors to
consume more power than neces-
sary, with typically no additional
production improvements (Figure
3). If you find there is no good rea-
son for high pressure, then lower it.

7. IMPROVE AIR TREATMENT

EFFICIENCY
An air compressor produces hot,
Source: Compressed Air Challenge

wet, oily air that must be condi-

tioned so as not to contaminate
downstream machinery or pro-
cesses. The compressed air is dried
using air dryers and is typically
filtered in some fashion to remove
contaminants. Compressed air
treatment equipment can be a CHECK YOUR EQUIPMENT
Figure 4. Compressed air treatment equipment can be a significant source of energy loss through
significant source of energy loss purge loss, electrical power consumption, pressure loss, or through excessive drainage while
through purge loss (for desiccant removing the captured liquids from the system.

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dryers), electrical power consump-
tion (refrigerated dryers), pressure
loss (causing the compressor to
consume more power), or through
excessive drainage while remov-
ing the captured liquids from the
system (Figure 4).
The selection of more efficient air
dryers that use less power through
efficient design, low- or no-purge
flow, and/or lower designed pres-
sure differential is a good energy
efficiency measure. Airless con-
densate drains will reduce the
compressed air waste that might be
occurring if cracked open manual
drains or timer style drains are
normally used to expel liquids from
the system. Every psi reduction in
pressure differential or reduced cfm
of wasted compressed air translates
to less energy being consumed at
the air compressors.
8. UPGRADE PLANT PIPING
Undersized compressed air pip-
ing can cause a restriction to flow
in compressed air systems, which
forces compressor discharge pres-
sures higher to compensate. Often
the compressor room header system
and distribution piping was sized
many years ago. Over a period of
time the plant may have grown and
compressed air demands increased
to the point where the original
piping is too small. As part of the
system optimization process, the
compressed air piping pressure
PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
SOUND MONITORING
Figure 5. Implementing ultrasonic leak detection into a regular maintenance program can improve
compressed air leakage. A good target to aim for would be a leak level of 10% of the average
compressed air flow.
differential should be measured to
determine if there is a problem. Pip-
ing modifications such as looping
the system may improve things, or
pipe size increases may be required.
A good system should have no more
than 10% pressure differential across
the complete system from the com-
pressor room to the end use piping
drop. An excellent system will have
no more than 2% drop.
9. REDUCE COMPONENT
PRESSURE LOSS
A significant and important item
to check is how much pressure dif-
ferential exists between the piping
drop and the actual end use of the
compressed air. It is common to
see the biggest pressure differential
occurring in the “Dirty Thirty,”
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Source: Compressed Air Challenge
i.e. the last 30 feet of pipe. In that
last section of piping, there may
be undersized filters, regulators,
lubricators, connectors, and hoses,
all elements that can contribute to
significant pressure differential.
This differential can also be inside
the production machinery itself.
When major pressure differentials
occur in this section of the system,
the discharge pressures at the air
compressor end of the system must
rise to compensate, increasing the
power costs. Care and attention to
sizing these components for low
pressure differential at peak flows
can often cost only a few hundred
dollars, but yield thousands of
dollars in annual savings at the air
compressors.

10. IMPLEMENT LEAKAGE
DETECTION AND REPAIR
On average about 25-30% of all
the compressed air produced by the
air compressors never makes it to
the end user. If there is no leakage
detection and repair program in
the plant, this number can be much
higher, and in extreme cases can up
to 80% of the average air demand
can be leakage. The repair of
compressed air leaks is one of the
easiest ways to gain energy savings
in a compressed air system – all you
need in most cases is a keen sense
of hearing, some time, and a few
wrenches. And if better tools are
used, like implementing ultra-
sonic leak detection into a regular
maintenance program, improved
results can be achieved (Figure 5).
A good target to aim for would be
a leak level of 10% of the average
compressed air flow.
It is important to ensure that the
air compressors at the other end of
the system are well controlled and
have good turndown characteristics
to get the most from leak repair.
The reduction in leakage flow re-
duces the power demanded by the
air compressors; also, this reduced
flow will cause reduced pressure
differentials across all the system
restrictions.
11. REDUCE OR ELIMINATE
INAPPROPRIATE USES
The inappropriate use of com-
PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
REMEMBER TRAINING
Figure 6. With proper training, your personnel might realize that seeking the easy way may not be
in your best interest due to the high cost of compressed air.
pressed air is easy to implement.
With proper training, your
personnel might realize that seek-
ing the easy way may not be in
your best interest due to the high
cost of compressed air (Figure 6).
There are many compressed air
powered activities that can more
efficiently be achieved using other
energy sources. Some of these
may be blowing, cleaning, cool-
ing, pumping, creating vacuum,
agitation, moving material, run-
ning air motors, and atomization
of liquids.
In optimizing compressed air
system, these potentially inap-
propriate uses of compressed
air are identified and analyzed
during the air system study. The
life cycle costs then are compared
with other methods of doing the
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Source: Compressed Air Challenge
same job. In some cases the use
may not be completely eliminat-
ed, but can still be optimized by
supplying lower pressure, turning
off the use when not required,
or redesigning it to run with less
compressed air.
12. REDUCE ARTIFICIAL
DEMAND
When equipment and processes
receive compressed air at higher
pressures than they are designed
they typically consume more
volume, but this may not result in
an additional benefit to production.
Air cylinders consume more air
at higher pressure because it take
more air to fill at higher pressure.
Blowing devices use more flow at
higher pressure because there is
more force available to expel the
air. All of this translates to higher

total flow and resulting higher
compressor power consumption.
Reducing plant pressure by reduc-
ing compressor discharge pressure
can yield savings, but so will the
use pressure/flow control devices
that regulate the complete main
plant pressure to only the mini-
mum level required by downstream
equipment. And local, well-sized
regulators that have been carefully
selected to regulate without exces-
sive drop can reduce the artificial
demand at individual end users.
And, for a Baker’s Dozen:
13. USE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS
Compressed air optimization can
PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT
definitely be implemented using
low cost/no cost measures, but to
really achieve the best results some
significant expenditure is usually
required. Your local power utility
or energy organization may
support compressed air improve-
ments with financial incentives if
the work you are doing saves
energy. Some of these organiza-
tions will support initial basic
energy studies, more detailed full
audits, and even fund a significant
part of a compressed air energy
project. These organizations may
also have information resources
and technical support personnel to
assist you in applying for these
funds. It pays to ask about the
possibilities for your plant.
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References
1. U.S. Department of Energy,
2004. "Evaluation of the Compressed
Air Challenge Training Program."
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/
manufacturing/tech_assistance/pdfs/
eval_cactp_cd.pdf
Before retiring in 2016,
Ron Marshall was the
industrial compressed
air systems expert at Manitoba Hydro,
where he worked for 38 years. His
efforts supported the organization’s
Power Smart Performance Optimiza-
tion Program, and he now operates his
own compressed air energy efficiency
consulting firm and is a member of the
project development committee at the
Compressed Air Challenge.
 PLANT SERVIC ES: SPEC IAL REPORT

Additional Resources
1. AIRCOMPARE® COMPRESSED AIR ANALYSIS CALCULATOR
AirCompare provides manufacturers with insight into their compressed air
system including identifying areas where they could reduce costs. To get
started, you will need the HP or kW rating of your current compressors, an-
nual operating hours, and the energy rate from your local energy supplier.

Calculate Your Compressed Air Costs

http://aircompare.fs-elliott.com/
CLICK HERE

2. H
 OW TO MAKE YOUR COMPRESSOR ROOM WORK
FOR YOUR WHITE PAPER
When trying to reduce plant operating costs and grow your bottom line,
air compressors are often an afterthought. Most organizations focus on
reducing utilities but frequently discount any benefits they may enjoy by
addressing the compressor room. Ensuring your compressor room is opti-
mized based on the needs of your facility should always be the first step in
your cost savings journey.

View White Paper

http://www2.fs-elliott.com/l/136321/2017-06-05/246zdj
CLICK HERE

3. H
 OW DOES A CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR WORK?
Watch an FS-Elliott centrifugal compressor in action as the air travels
through each stage of the process, resulting in a reliable, ISO 8573-1 Class 0,
100% oil-free air stream to power a variety of industrial applications.

View Animation
CLICK HERE

http://www.fs-elliott.com/how-does-a-centrifugal-compressor-work

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