Air compressor costs: Tips to reduce them
Apart from the fact that air compressors are considerable investments, the operating costs might be high. Lots of companies don’t realize that there are in fact lots of ways to reduce these costs. In this article we’ll discuss a few of the energy-saving possibilities that you’ll have to consider to lower air compressors costs.
Reducing air compressor costs: power requirements
Everything starts with choosing the right air compressor for your needs. This also means you’ll have to choose a system that has the right power requirements. Obviously you won’t choose an air compressor that isn’t able to generate enough energy, but choosing a system that generates too much power isn’t a good choice either. The power requirements of these compressors are too high for your needs, which means that you’ll have to pay unnecessary energy costs.
Take a look at the working pressure
To make sure you aren’t paying any unnecessary costs, it’s important to take a look at the working pressure of your air compressor. Higher pressure requires more energy, so generating too much pressure for your needs can be a costly affair. 1 bar higher pressure requires an average 8% more power. At first this might seem insignificant, but that isn’t the case when you look at the overall efficiency of your system. Are you generating too much pressure for your needs? Choosing the right compressor and/or regulation equipment to lower the pressure can be a good idea to reduce costs.
Avoid air leakage
Another way to reduce air compressor costs is to take a look at the overall air consumption. Leakage, worn parts or inefficient processes might lead to excessive air consumption. Important is to make sure that the different sections of your air compressor have shut-off valves. That way air consumption can be reduced, for instance at night or during weekends. Leakage can result in 10 to 15% excessive air consumption.
Get your system checked regularly for leakage or wear and tear to reduce the risk of high air consumption costs.
Regulate your air compressor system
As mentioned above, there are always different operating situations (for instance on weekends or during the night). Each situation requires a different working pressure and air consumption. Mapping out these different situations and implementing regulation methods are essential to make sure you reduce unnecessary costs. There are solutions for central as well as speed control. Keep control of the flow rate, air consumption and pressure at all times, and maintain a regular maintenance schedule.
Can we help you?
Do you have any questions on air compressors in general or reducing air compressor costs in particular? Get in touch with us, and we’ll answer your questions as quickly as possible.