AIR LEAK AUDIT
The US
Department of Energy has validated what countless air studies
have shown, that while most consumers of compressed air think
in terms of the cost of the compressor and dryer, plus the
annual maintenance costs, those two things together account
for only about 24% of the annual cost of generating
compressed air.
Annual Cost of Compressed
Air
Equipment + Maintenance =
24%
Electricity = 76%.
The expensive part of making compressed air, is the
electricity required to run the compressor, and that cost
rarely hits the maintenance budget as a discrete
line-item.
If you want to save money, the solution is simple, use less
air. The USDOE and Compressed Air Challenge estimate
that 25-30% of all compressed air generated is simply lost
to leaks. You can make an immediate positive impact
on your plant operating expenses by finding and plugging
those leaks.
At 5 cents per Kwh and 100 PSI plant pressure running 7,000
hours per year, your annual cost of each ¼”
hole is $3,997. If you have 10 of those, you are
gaining zero value from $40,000 of your budget.
FIXING AIR LEAKS
To find the biggest holes walk a quiet plant, listening for
the air hisses. FIX THEM RIGHT AWAY. Then, to
find the majority of the leaks, use an ultrasonic leak
detector like the one pictured in this article. If
you don’t want to do that, call your HTE Compressed
Air Solutions sales representative to arrange for our help
with the project.
ARTIFICIAL DEMAND
Once the leak plugging project is complete, we should then
talk about artificial demand and inappropriate uses of
compressed air. Together, at an average US plant,
these two things consume between 15 and 25% of all
compressed air generated.
For all your compressed air services needs, HTE Compressed
Air Services is available to assist you if you are located
in Kansas, Missouri, or Illinois.
The US
Department of Energy has validated what countless air studies
have shown, that while most consumers of compressed air think
in terms of the cost of the compressor and dryer, plus the
annual maintenance costs, those two things together account
for only about 24% of the annual cost of generating
compressed air. 
