High-end Compressed Air Costs

A high-end car dealership purchased a premium brand air compressor for their upscale dealership to service both service and body repair bays and the numerous air tools used in the facility.

As part of some extra customer service an air auditor visited the site to assess the new installation. The auditor was impressed with the quality of the high-end equipment, both the cars and air compressor, but especially impressed with the large storage receiver that was installed and thermal mass air dryer that turns itself off between cycles, saving power. But a review of the compressor's hour meter readings revealed some trouble. Of the 3,300 hours the machine had been running, only 300 hours had been loaded. This meant the machine was running unloaded, still consuming about 35 percent of its full load power, but producing no air, over 90 percent of the time.

Further to this, the compressor room designers forgot that compressors generate heat. One small open window was the only source of cool outside air, the room temperature was approaching 120 degrees F, even with light compressor loading.

It was also discovered that the compressor was left to run continuously, even at night and on weekends, when nobody was working in the dealership.

Luckily the compressor had a smart control that, if enabled, could completely shut the machine off between load cycles if the compressor was lightly loaded, which is most of the time. The dealership also had staff who could turn the compressor off before they left at night. A new compressor operating schedule was implemented and with a few pushes of the panel buttons the auto shutdown feature was activated, saving the dealership over $7,000 per year in electrical costs. A new ventilation system is in the planning stages.

The car dealer is an expert in optimizing the operation of vehicles, not air compressors. His compressor supplier, who should have known better however, had dropped the ball as far as helping his customer get the most out of some pretty nice equipment.

Learn more about compressor control in our next Compressed Air Challenge seminar in your area. Visit www.compressedairchallenge.org for more information.