This paper is written from the perspective of a compressed air auditor who has made more than 100 compressed air energy audits with recommended annual savings exceeding $5,500,000. Much of the cost reduction potential in compressed air systems is simply an application of common sense once the realization of the amount of money spent to produce compressed air and the inefficiencies of compressed air production is realized. An air compressor is an inefficient power source with more than 80% of the energy input being potentially rejected as waste heat. Add to that the rapidly deteriorating efficiencies of the compressor under part load conditions as the output falls from design conditions and it becomes very evident why compressed air is considered to be the most costly utility consumed in an industrial facility. Take that a step further―a costly utility with a possibly unknown cost. How do we get a grasp on the annual cost of operating a compressed air system? More importantly, what can we do to reduce those costs? Where should we focus our efforts? Following are observations made in numerous industrial plants with recommendations, suggestions, and comments that can help save significant sums of money in the operation of compressed air systems.
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