Campaign reveals the high costs of compressed air leaks
The UK compressed air and fluid power specialist Thorite has launched a campaign to raise awareness about unseen energy inefficiencies in compressed air systems that can lead to high costs. The Behind Closed Doors campaign urges users to monitor what is happening in their compressor houses, where leaks that go unnoticed or are ignored can inflate energy bills.
It has been calculated that the cost of the electricity to power a compressor accounts for 86% of its total cost of ownership over a five-year period, but almost a third of this energy is wasted due to inefficient practices.
“Previously, it was easy to have an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach to compressors,” says Thorite’s marketing manager, Carl Davenport. “As long as they are working as expected, the only time any attention is paid to them is during a service. In some cases, it can be argued that the cost of repairing a small leak in the air system might be higher than the cost of wasted energy.
“However, with energy now costing roughly double what it was a year ago, there’s now no longer an excuse to let leaks and inefficiencies continue to inflate energy consumption.
“We’ve launched the Behind Closed Doors campaign to raise awareness of the financial impact that compressed air leaks can have, and to help customers identify how they can make significant savings.”
Thorite has recently created a dedicated team to help customers cut energy use and to rein in associated costs. It is also offering a “unique” energy efficiency module from Festo which provides smart monitoring, downtime reporting and leak detection, as well as the automated shut-down and start-up of idle machines. Thorite says that the module can help users to achieve energy cost savings of thousands of pounds a year.
Another option is solenoid-operated isolation valves, costing as little as £60, which are wired to a compressor’s start-stop button to control the air supply, shutting it down automatically when the machine being powered stops.
