Out with the Old and In with the New

KAESER identifies 75% potential compressed air system energy consumption savings by conducting a leak audit and Air Demand Analysis.

For many years, the compressed air system at a metal products plant grew without taking the time to weigh the energy consumption and age of their current compressed air equipment. When production changes caused pressures to drop below acceptable levels, the plant simply added a new compressor to their existing system, without removing older compressors (averaging 15 years but ranging up to 36 years old).

A comprehensive Kaeser Air Demand Analysis (ADA) was performed on the plant’s air compressor system to help them understand the compressed air issues they currently had and make sound recommendations on system improvements. Kaeser also completed a leak detection audit, not only documenting the size and location of each leak but also quantifying the overall leakage cost to the facility.

KAESER identified approximately 75% potential compressed air system energy consumption savings. Taking Kaeser’s recommendations, the leaks were fixed, the black iron piping was updated with Kaeser SmartPipe™ and a new compressed air plant design was installed, including Kaeser Sigma Frequency Control (SFC) and the SIGMA AIR MANAGER (SAM) Master Controller. In the end, Kaeser’s compressed air solution yielded the following results:

• Operating Energy Cost for Previous System: $90,000 per year
• Estimated Savings for Fixing Leaks: $51,000 per year
• Estimated Savings from New Compressors and System Controls: $17,000 per year
• Total Annual Energy Savings: $68,000
• Utility Incentive: $25,000