Okay, we admit it. It’s trite. Articles about New Year’s Resolutions dominate the news every year at this time. Well, we considered that, yet we decided to do it anyway.
So, without further delay, here are the four New Year’s Resolutions every manager of a compressed air system should make in 2013.
- Identify air leaks in your system. About 80 percent of air leaks in a compressed air system are inaudible, so a third-party auditor is likely needed to help detect leaks that even the most observant workers can’t detect. And, piping systems more than five years old have been shown to exhibit leaks of up to 25 percent.
- Fix every leak you find. Even the smallest of leaks can be a big drain on resources. A single quarter-inch air leak at 100 psi will cost you more than $2,500 a year. Depending on pressure requirements and energy costs, by some accounts, this can cost as much as $8,000 a year per leak.
- Identify and put a stop to inappropriate uses of compressed air. We define inappropriate compressed air usage as any application that could otherwise be conducted more efficiently or effectively by a method other than compressed air. Frequent sights of compressed air misuse include open hose nozzles, using expensive compressed air for personal cooling (this can potentially be very dangerous, and a fan will work just fine and far more efficiently), along with a number of improvised tools that are used to remove dust and debris. We all applaud ingenuity and innovation, but some of the best intentions often fail to exhibit a smart use of resources.
- Eliminate artificial demand. By some estimates, as much as 25 percent of compressor output is wasted through artificial demand. One of our favorite stories is about a facility manager who took it upon himself to lower energy costs, but wanted to avoid the ire of workers who may complain about pressure drops. He embarked on his own artificial demand experiment and lowered his facility’s compressor output by one psi each day until he received a complaint about low system pressure; even then, he simply raised the pressure back up one more psi. Beginning at about 110 psi, the manager dropped his system’s output by more than 10 percent – dropping it to 99 psi – before fielding a single complaint. That simple, single step helped save his facility tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Taking individual steps to help reduce your air compressors’ energy draw has a significant impact collectively, which saves money, energy and resources.
And if you don’t want to tackle it yourself, contact us to schedule an air assessment and to see how much you can save.
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