Compressed air is one of the biggest consumers of energy in the industry. About 20% of all electric power is consumed by air and/ or gas compressors.
However, compressed air is a utility that can hardly be avoided in production processes.
It is therefore very important to take a critical look at the compressed air consumption.
This can not only save lots of money, it can also reduce your carbon footprint as a company and help you reach your carbon emission reduction goals.
There are a couple of ways to reduce compressed air consumption.
Let me mention 3 of them
1]Changing your production process. This means change some of the components that use compressed air and turn them into electric operated components if possible. Sometimes this is expensive and it needs investments as well as downtime of production. It could be done during a plant stop to avoid loss of production. Still it takes a lot of preparation, engineering and investments of time and money. The result is that these (small) sub processes and components change from using air to not using air. This can mean a huge reduction of air consumption.
2]Undergo a search of system leaks in your entire production facility. From historical facts we know that this can save about between 10 and 20% of the total air consumption. This could be a massive reduction of absorbed power of the compressor in your company. It is easy to investigate theses leaks, and It is also easy to repair them. Overall this is “low hanging fruit”, it saves you both compressed air and thus absorbed power and will in the end save you a lot of money and reduce your carbon footprint.
3]Investment in late technology air compressors. The different manufacturers of compressors have not been sitting still and made progress in energy saving technology over the past years. But when it comes to the correct advice on your compressed air system it is not always the issue of reducing carbon footprint that is top of mind. Sometimes it is the manufacturers’ goal to sell as much as possible instead of giving the end user the best possible advice and solution. Make sure to talk to multiple parties about your new compressors. Not just salespeople but other experts in the industry as well. Late technology compressors can save energy and money but definitely needs a large investment in your compressed air system.
Divestment of old compressors could help, see our article on selling your old machines To BLOG
My advice as an expert is to seek help from outside compressor sales organisations. This way you will get a clear and independent picture of your compressed air system and situation.
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