Designing an energy-efficient compressed air system

07 December, 2023

Option 3

And finally, option three allows plant engineers to calculate the annual cost of the system by estimating the energy consumption of each air compressor.

The following working example provides a useful guide: a 75kW compressor operates at 7 bar. It is on load for 80 per cent of the production time, which is 2,000 hours per year. Energy consumption of the compressor = 75 x 0.8 x 2,000 = 120,000 kWh/year. If electricity costs £0.1249/kWh, the annual energy cost is £14,988. Should production time increase to 6000 hours per year, for example, then the annual energy cost would rise to £44,964.

With a range of options available to monitor the annual cost of the air compressor system, it is also important to ensure that alternatives are compared based on ‘whole life’ cost, not just the initial capital outlay. By opting for equipment that is a higher cost but is more efficient, sites could benefit from both lower running costs and total cost of ownership in the long term.

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