From Environmental Leader, January 27, 2012
Air compressors present a variety of opportunities for saving energy, from leak reduction and air intake improvements, to maintenance, monitoring, specification and design, according to guidance from the Carbon Trust.
Of the total energy supplied to a compressor, as little as 8 to 10 percent is converted to usable energy at point of use, making it a very inefficient and expensive way of transferring energy. The Carbon Trust says businesses in the U.K. could save up to £110 million a year ($173 million) by taking simple actions, at little or no cost, to improve compressed air systems and processes.
The trust says that compressed air can be up to 30 percent of a facility’s energy use, with frequent users of compressed air including companies in aircraft and auto manufacturing, cement, ceramics, chemicals, electronics, engineering, food and drink, foundries, glass, insulation materials, minerals, paper and board, pharmaceuticals, power generation, rubber and plastics, steel, textiles, tobacco and water treatment.
Some of the opportunities for improvement are: