Compressed Air Audit for Energy Savings
A compressed air audit is a comprehensive process in which you identify areas of loss or inefficiency with your compressed air system. With various tools and techniques, you can understand more about your system’s performance and what you can do to improve it.
Pattons is an authorized ELGi air compressor distributor that offers comprehensive compressed air audit service to help identify areas of energy wastage in the compressed air system and enables customers to cut energy bills, improve operations, and increase productivity.
What is a Compressed Air Audit?
Compressed air, commonly referred to as the 4th utility, is an expensive and inefficient part of the production process. For every 8 horsepower of electricity consumed, only 1 horsepower of work is produced. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, compressed air represents about 10% of the electricity use in the United States. Although compressed air is inefficient, it is vital across industries and remains as the safest and best way to store and use energy. Much can be done to control and reduce compressed air wastage. Creating an efficient compressed air system should be a top priority. In our experience, 15-35% can be saved by performing an air compressor audit.
Pattons certified audit team is experienced in assessing all sizes and types of compressed air systems with an Air Audit Service. We have auditors on staff with the following certifications:
- Certified U.S. Department of Energy AIRMaster+ Specialist
- CAGI Certified Compressed Air System Specialist
All of our compressed air audit services are performed according to the principles and guidelines Compressed Air Challenge and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Benefits of Air Audit:
- Compressed air systems frequently consume substantial amounts of energy. A compressed air leak audit can reveal inefficiencies and leaks, leading to increased energy and operational efficiency.
- The compressed air audit service offers valuable insights into the system’s performance, enabling necessary adjustments to guarantee a consistent and dependable supply of compressed air for production operations and equipment.
- Enhancing energy efficiency results in cost savings and reduces the carbon footprint, actively contributing to sustainable operational practices.
- Timely identification and correction of issues serve to extend the operational life of compressors and other integral components, thereby minimizing instances of downtime and costs associated with replacements.
The importance of auditing beyond the compressor room :
If you do not do anything, you could be missing out on adding dollars to your bottom line.
Although performing a simple “Supply Side Audit” is better than ignoring the costs of generating your compressed air, looking only in the compressor room limits the amount of inefficiencies you can identify, thus limiting the potential savings you can achieve.
Pressure drop across a facility means the compressors must provide higher pressure compressed air to satisfy the end use. This increases the amount of energy the compressor consumes by a 1% for every 2 psig increase in pressure. This can be done by looping the system, increasing piping size, or sizing point of use storage for intermittent large demands.
Leaks can constitute a significant percentage of the overall demand. Performing a compressed air leak audit study can drastically reduce baseload demands.
Reducing or even eliminating compressed air demand at the end of use can drastically reduce the size of the equipment in the compressor room. It will lead to maximum energy savings when looking at the entire system.
Contact us to request more information on compressed air audits or to schedule a visit.
How does Pattons conduct an Air Audit?
Our goal for performingcompressed air auditsis to provide accurate results to save our clients thousands of dollars a year, as well as to assist plant personnel with critical information for the decisions pertaining to future growth and efficiency. To provide a full scope of this information, we recommend the following process:
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Baseline Audit – This provides a baseline to measure the actual performance and efficiency improvement measures implemented throughout the process.
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Demand-Side Audit – A qualified auditor will spend time in the facility, evaluating your process and compressed air usage to determine if any alternate methods will perform with equal efficiency while consuming less or no compressed air. We will also look for poor practices and means of reducing pressure drops.
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Compressed Air Leak Audit Using ultrasonic leak detection, our audit and service team will find and tag compressed air leaks in your facility. Leaks will be categorized by intensity and will be prioritized accordingly. There may be energy provider rebates for performing this study, which will help or fully cover the cost of this service.
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Supply Side Audit – Once the demand side recommendations have been completed, and the leaks have been repaired, we will perform a Supply Side Air Audit similar to what we did in Step 1. Our focus will change slightly as we will tune in on the compressor room and how efficiently you are generating compressed air based on your reduced demand. Product neutral recommendations will be prepared with return on investment on each recommendation.
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Implement Recommendations – Changes are made to supply side system by Pattons or your chosen service provider.
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Verification Audit – This is a very simple audit showing the new lower energy cost, flows, pressures and any other relevant data to verify the recommendations as long as the solutions implemented follow the guidelines proposed. This data is also collected for energy providers in order to issue the customer incentive rebates, if applicable.
FAQ
An air leak audit is a comprehensive assessment to identify and address air leaks within a compressed air system. These leaks can lead to energy wastage, increased operating costs, and reduced system efficiency.
Specialized equipment, such as ultrasonic leak detectors, are used during a compressed air leak audit to identify air leaks by detecting the high-frequency sound they produce. This allows for accurate pinpointing of leak locations.
Fixing air leaks with a compressed air leak audit results in energy savings, directly reducing operational costs. It also enhances the efficiency and overall performance of your compressed air system
An air energy audit systematically evaluates a compressed air system’s energy consumption, performance, and efficiency. It identifies opportunities to optimize energy use and minimize wastage.
Pattons is an authorized ELGi air compressor distributor offering comprehensive compressed air audit