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A plant manager had been running the same manufacturing facility for nearly a decade, but compressed air had always remained a bit of a mystery. It was essential to the operation, yet notoriously expensive. He knew the compressors were energy hogs, and he was tired of watching electricity costs climb year after year. Determined to […]

By Ron Marshall Robert, the plant manager, was puzzled. His compressed air system had been running smoothly, but his energy bills seemed high. After reviewing his equipment, he realized the issue was the compressor’s cycle time. In a typical compressed air system, a lubricated screw compressor operates in load/unload mode. The cycle time refers to […]

Chuck, a seasoned plant manager, was used to solving problems. But this summer, his compressed air system was giving him a run for his money. Temperatures in the compressor room were soaring. Alarms were sounding. One of the rotary screw compressors had already shut down twice due to high temperature. Production was stalling, tools were […]

Compressed air is one of the most expensive utilities in an industrial facility — yet many operators don’t fully understand its cost or efficiency potential. That’s where a compressed air system analysis can make a powerful difference. Whether conducted by a utility, manufacturer, or independent consultant, a well-executed analysis can uncover hidden inefficiencies and chart […]

By Ron Marshall You’ve sealed leaks, upgraded nozzles, optimized piping, and trained your team on compressed air efficiency — yet all your compressors are still running. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Many facilities invest heavily in improving the demand side of their compressed air system, only to see little or no reduction in compressor usage. […]

By Ron Marshall If you’ve ever heard that it takes between 7 and 8 hp of input energy to get just 1 hp of work from a compressed air system, you might already suspect that these systems aren’t the most efficient. But the reality is even worse. In real-world industrial settings, compressed air systems often […]

At a large machine shop in the Midwest, everything ran smoothly most of the year. The plant used a big, air-cooled screw compressor and a refrigerated air dryer to power tools, paint booths, and machines. During the cooler months, the system performed great. There were no complaints, and the maintenance crew didn’t pay much attention […]

Joe was the plant manager at a busy manufacturing facility. He had been in the job for a few years and thought he had a good handle on everything. One of the systems he never really worried about was the big industrial screw air compressor out in the utility room. It had always worked just […]

A compressed air auditor was surprised to see an air compressor under test was consuming excess power when unloaded. A check of the sump pressure (Fig. 1) showed the sump was not blowing down during unload cycles. And the installed flow meter showed the compressor was producing a small amount of air, even in the […]

During an audit, a compressed air professional noticed an interesting characteristic. While a 300-hp compressor was used to supply an average of 800 cfm during production activity, he noticed the compressed air flow to the plant fell to about 130 cfm during non-production times on weekends. He also noticed that the plant had a 75-hp […]