Regulate Compressed Air Usage

Compressed air is expensive. Wasted compressed air can be a significant source of loss. Ensuring that compressed air is used efficiently can help minimize those losses.Ensuring that no air valves are left open when not in use can minimize compressed air losses and compressor run-time, saving you money on energy costs and reducing wear-and-tear on the compressor.

Compressed air regulation can be achieved with proper engineering or administrative controls. Engineering controls, including automated valves, are a much more robust solution as they remove the human factors element. However, engineering controls are more costly than administrative solutions.

Administrative controls are less robust, as they rely on employees understanding and complying with the policies. Administrative controls will require less resources, but are unlikely to generate the same energy savings as properly-adjusted engineering controls. When opting for administrative controls, consider developing policies and, more importantly, training all employees on these developed policies, including:

• When compressed air systems should be started and shut-down
• When individual air valves or controls related to processes should be open, closed, or otherwise manipulated
• Applications for compressed air and disallowing other uses

In a case study, improved compressed air regulation at a distilling company helped to reduce annual energy use by 186,000 kWh, leading to an annual savings of $18,100.