Energy Efficiency in Compressed Air Systems

Compressed air is the most important input for the production processes of many businesses today. Nevertheless, generally, compressed air systems are highly inefficient, resulting in a big amount of wasted energy and cost. Compressed air is very expensive as only 10–20% of the electric energy input reaches the point of end-use. The residuary input energy converts to wasted heat or is lost due to leakages.There are some important methods to reduce compressed air costs by making the compressed air system more energy efficient. The applications to reduce the compressed air costs can be listed as follows: the detection and repair leaks, elimination of redundant and inappropriate uses of compressors, minimizing pressure drop, reducing system pressure, sizing and controlling compressors to match loads, using efficient part-load controls, optimizing distribution system operation, using outside air intake when the outside air is cooler than the inside air, improve routine maintenance, recovering waste heat.