Simple Tips for Making Your Compressed Air System More Energy Efficient

In general, a compressor and the associated maintenance fees only add up to a fraction of the total cost of a compressed air system; more than 80% is attributed to energy costs over the lifespan of a compressor.

By ensuring your compressed air system is running at peak efficiency, a substantial amount of money can be saved. The below guide offers suggestions on the most effective ways to make your compressed air system more energy efficient.

Plan Out Your System

Before immediately purchasing and installing your compressed air system, you should spend time evaluating the surrounding area for the ideal location. For instance, setting up your compressor in a section of your warehouse that is dirty and dusty could eventually clog or slow down the airflow in your system.

Similarly, you should design a floorplan that does not unnecessarily restrict the airflow. Whenever the air switches directions, the speed decreases, which causes higher differential pressure loss.

Another aspect to consider before you begin purchasing and installing compressed air products is the size of your products. If you end up oversizing your compressor, filters, or dryers, you may increase your energy costs. Not only do larger products take more energy to run, but the product’s initial investment is more expensive.

Stay on Top of Maintenance

In compressed air systems, preventive maintenance is critical. Once problems begin to occur, the cost to fix them can be expensive, and it is likely that the energy bill may have already seen an impact. For example, small air leaks can quickly increase your energy bill if not repaired immediately.

Manufacturers issue recommended product servicing intervals to help best protect the system. At Walker Filtration, we recommend servicing our compressed air dryers after 6,000, 12,000, and 24,000 hours. At each of these intervals, different parts of the dryer should be replaced or there runs the risk of product failure.

Additionally, we suggest replacing compressed air filter elements every 6 or 12 months dependent on application to ensure clean, dry air in your system. Read more about our recommended filter element change-out schedule.

Conserve and Utilize Energy

To keep your energy costs low, you will have to actively work on conserving energy. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to do so is by turning off the system when it is not in use.

Heat recovery is also an effective way to utilize energy. About 90% of the energy that a compressor uses comes out as heat. To be as efficient as possible, you can utilize and repurpose that heat. For example, you could use that heat to keep your building warm or to dry paint.

Filtration Products Count

Every product in your compressed air system counts towards your energy usage and overall pressure loss. Therefore, you can decrease your overall energy usage by choosing filtration products with a low differential pressure loss.

Having compressed air filters and dryers with a low-pressure loss also means that you do not have to oversize the compressor to make up for the pressure loss caused by your filtration products. By using a smaller compressor, you will use less energy and decrease your initial system investment.

Choose the Energy Efficient Filtration Products

Walker Filtration manufactures and sells high performance compressed air filters and dryers which significantly reduce pressure loss to ensure continually low operational costs.

Please contact our sales team today to learn more about how our products can decrease your system’s energy costs.