Assessment of the Market for Compressed Air Efficiency Services

TABLE 1-3: Compressed Air System Improvement Applicability and SavingsCompressed Air Market AssessmentMeasure Applicability Savings NetLow Midrange High Fraction SavingsReduce Overall System Requirements 20% 30% 40% 20% 6.0%Match Compressor Size to Load 5% 10% 15% 3% 0.3%Improve Compressor Controls 15% 25% 40% 10% 2.5%Improve Compressor Components 5% 15% 20% 5% 0.8%Operation and Maintenance 50% 75% 85% 10% 7.5%Overall Savings 17.1%the Industrial Assessment Centers had average projected savings of 15%of compressed air systems with simple paybacks in less than 2 years.Many case studies conducted for system optimization programs haveidentified savings in the range of 30 to 60% of initial system usage.Many case studiesconducted forsystem optimizationprograms haveidentified savingsin the range of30 to 60% of initialsystem usage.In developing estimates of energy savings potential for the Motor MarketAssessment, XENERGY, Inc., interviewed a number of compressed airsystem efficiency experts to estimate the average level of energy savingsavailable in plant air systems. We asked these experts to identify the mostcommonly available energy efficiency measures, estimate the percentageof installed systems in which they would be applicable (i.e., be technicallyfeasible and achieve a payback of 3 years or less), and the level of energysavings they generally achieve, expressed as a percentage of initialsystem energy. Table 1-3 summarizes the findings from this research.A recent study commissioned by utilities in the Northeast estimatedpotential savings of 30% of compressed air system electric use if the3-year payback criterion is relaxed. 2 This larger technical potential issignificant in areas where utility incentives are available. 3The figures in Table 1-3 suggest that, on average, compressed air systemusage can be reduced by 17.1% through measures that yield maximumpayback of 3 years. Based on conversations with compressed air systemconsultants, these projects can generally be executed at capital costranging from $10,000 to $100,000, with a typical range of $20,000 to$50,000. If all of these projects were implemented, energy savingswould total 15,670 GWh per year, or $747 million at current industrialelectric rates.In addition to these attractive energy savings, improvements to the energyefficiency of compressed air systems also yield other important benefitsto the end user. Because many of the measures shown in Table 1-3require significant levels of system monitoring and maintenance for properimplementation, one of their by-products is improved system operation.This in turn leads to reductions in unscheduled downtime and wastedinputs, as well as to improved control over product quality. In manycases, these benefits have value greater than the energy savings.10U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY2 XENERGY, Inc. (1998) United States Industrial Electric Motor Systems Market Opportunities Assessment. Washington, D. C.:U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Industrial Technology, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, page 61.3 Aspen Systems Corporation. The Compressed Air Systems Market Assessment for New England, Compressed Air Baseline StudyGroup, April 2000.