Compressed air is one of the most expensive hidden energy costs in manufacturing.
While many plant managers focus on the upfront purchase and installation cost of an air compressor, that represents only about 12% of lifetime costs. The real expense comes from energy consumption, which accounts for roughly 76% of a compressor’s total cost of ownership, according to Kaishan.
Generating compressed air requires:
Leaks alone can waste up to 30% of compressed air output.
As production demands grow, many plants respond by adding more compressors instead of addressing system inefficiencies, resulting in high energy costs, reduced performance, and unnecessary waste.
That’s why professional air compressor audits remain a critical part of plant operations looking to streamline costs.
Quick inspections and routine assessments play an important role in maintenance, but they only provide a snapshot of system health. Completed in just a few hours, assessments can uncover some leaks, minor issues, or maintenance concerns.
While important, an assessment typically only scratches the surface.
A full compressed air system audit takes a deeper look at how the system performs over time and under real production conditions; an audit typically takes seven to 14 days. It involves placing data-logging equipment at strategic points throughout your system to track key performance parameters and variations in demand across all your work shifts and over weekends. These insights help facilities make more informed decisions about maintenance, upgrades and future expansion while reducing unnecessary operating costs.
MCE partners with a third-party auditor to conduct audits for our customers, providing unbiased system analysis, energy optimization, and long-term cost savings for our customers.
Full compressed air system audits are recommended annually. Additional audits are often performed after major production changes, when energy costs rise unexpectedly, when pressure or flow issues appear, or before compressor upgrades or expansions.
A proper air audit should track:
An audit includes a detailed report of the following:
After an audit, many facilities realize they are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars unnecessarily operating an inefficient compressed air system.
One of the most common findings during an air audit is excessive air leakage.
In many plants, those leaks add up to around 30% of total compressed air demand. In one customer’s facility alone, we identified 113 leaks that amounted to approximately $60,000 in annual wasted energy costs.
It’s a tough number to wrap your brain around. How could no one notice that much waste? Well, that’s because air leaks are not messy and they’re not obvious. Leaks may not create visible messes like an oil or water leak would. But even small leaks over time consume electricity and force compressors to work overtime to keep up.
And the higher the psi that system is set to run, the more leaks you have. That’s because compressed air escapes more rapidly through every leak point.
Common places leaks pop up include:
A full audit should do more than identify leaks. It should also calculate the financial impact of your system’s performance.
By gathering current electrical rates and monitoring equipment operation, an audit should shine a light on:
In that same customer audit discussed earlier, we uncovered an annual energy cost of about $200,000.
After implementing recommended improvements based on the detailed audit, we were able to save a projected 934,000 kilowatt-hours in energy. That amounted to roughly $70,000 a year in annual savings.
Recommendations may include:
The goal of an air audit should not just be to replace a part or spot leaks but to improve the system’s reliability and efficiency as a whole.
An audit should document your existing plant layout, complete with piping and equipment locations. This helps facility managers visualize where they have airflow restrictions, turbulence, and pressure drops that affect system performance.
Piping design can dramatically impact efficiency.
For example:
Beyond these limitations alone, an aging infrastructure can limit your future growth plans. Think about it. Many of these plant’s systems were built incrementally over the years, focusing more on current needs than long-term planning.
So, when those facilities expanded, they added more and bigger compressors without upgrading the piping infrastructure. Thinking more is better; the facility may then double its production capacity only to learn its compressed air infrastructure can’t support the demand.
An audit helps these companies plan for future growth without unexpected and unnecessary expenses down the road.
Not every facility needs a brand-new compressor system. A detailed audit will tell you exactly where improvements can be made for the most impact. Some facilities benefit the most from:
Others may require:
MCE recommends Kaishan USA’s large rotary screw compressors and components for their durability, availability of parts, customer service, and strong warranties. MCE is a Kaishan USA Authorized Distributor.
At MCE, we’re with you for the long haul.
We understand your entire system, not just the compressor. MCE offers both compressed air system assessments and detailed air audits.
As energy prices continue to rise, understanding your compressed air supply and demand gives you the tools you need to prepare for tomorrow, reduce bottlenecks, lower operating costs, and gain greater reliability in your processes.
Compressed air audits should focus on more than just immediate energy savings. When performed correctly they can be strategic planning tools for businesses of all sizes.
Large industrial facilities justify capital expenditures with measurable ROI and projected payback periods. Small to mid-size companies use audits as a roadmap for future growth.
Gain a better understanding of your compressed air needs. Schedule your compressed air system assessment today.