Wasted compressed air: aiming to save £147.5 million

The British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) has launched the 10% Taskforce – a call for UK businesses to take simple steps to cut their compressed air energy usage figure by 10%, with the potential to save a combined £147.5 million in wasted electricity costs.

Launched at this year’s Air-Tech exhibition, the campaign has an ambitious target to save over 411 thousand tonnes of CO₂, the equivalent of taking 317 thousand cars off the road.  

Generating compressed air can be very energy-intensive, representing as much as 30% of a site’s total electricity bill.  According to a report entitled Compressed Air Systems in the European Union1, when looking at the most important energy savings techniques available to compressed air users, ‘the energy savings amount to 32.9%, achievable over a 15-year period.’

This includes a range of measures including system installation or renewal and operation and maintenance techniques, such as reducing air leaks and more frequent filter replacement.

However, while both environmental and financial targets are driving operators to reduce their site’s overall electricity bill, many simple energy-saving measures related to their compressed air system can be overlooked, as Vanda Jones, BCAS Executive Director explains: “As the UK’s trade body representing compressed air system manufacturers, distributors, and end-users, we are regularly advising on the numerous ways that customers can improve the efficiency of compressors.  

“Using figures from the recent UK Energy-related products policy study, conducted by ICF in May 2021, we have calculated the combined energy usage for the mid-point of all industrial compressor technologies over their lifetime at 11.71 TWh2. Based on the current UK average non-domestic electrical unit cost of £0.1249/kWh3, the figures are substantial – equating to £1.475 billion being spent by UK companies to generate the compressed air their businesses rely on. 

“Add to this the fact that over 30% of this energy is being wasted through inefficient practices – equivalent to £485.43 million in wasted electricity spend – and there is much that businesses can do to cut this figure significantly.

“However, many operators may feel that this will require significant investment in new capital equipment, when often, taking small, incremental steps can have a significant impact on energy consumption.  Whether it is fixing air pipework leaks, recovering heat that would otherwise be lost to the atmosphere, or implementing routine system maintenance, BCAS members can advise on the best combination of measures that can help cut ownership costs.

“Our new 10% Taskforce is designed to help businesses save money and make a positive difference to the environment.  We encourage everyone in the industry to get involved. Alongside a dedicated white paper (available to download for free at taskforce10.bcas.org.uk), which details the energy-saving potential and some of the simple steps that can be implemented, we will also be showcasing some of the best examples of energy-saving compressed air programmes through our website and social media.”

1. Compressed Air Systems in the European Union. Energy, Emissions, Savings Potential and Policy Actions. Peter Radgen and Edgar Blaustein (Editors: Note that the potential for savings is less than the sum of the savings for individual measures. The total possible savings must be calculated as a product of efficiency gains. It should be considered that the efficiency gain of each measure acts on the residual compressed air system energy consumption.

2. Data obtained from the UK Energy-related products policy study. Conducted for the Department for Business, Energy, & Industrial Strategy by ICF Consulting Services Limited.

3. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/gas-and-electricity-prices-in-the-non-domestic-sector