Compressed air system audits and benchmarking

The electricity consumption for compressed air applications totals approx. 14 TWh per year in Germany and 80 TWh in the EU. An EU study was ables to show that economic energy saving potentials of more than 30 % exist which, in Germany alone, correspond to the output of 2 coal-fired power stations or a total amount of electricity of approx. 5 TWh. It is the objective of the campaign Druckluft effizient to activate these saving potentials. A large share of these potentials should be achieved by the end of 2004 using a wide variety of activities. Among others, the campaign offers compressed air benchmarking and a free compressed air audit campaign. The aim is to show companies the saving potentials not just qualitatively but also quantitatively. Publishing the results should encourage the implementation of measures in other companies of various sectors. This paper describes the procedure and the results of the measurement campaign, which is accompanied by an evaluation process. The saving potentials determinde lie between 10 and 65 % and it was ascertained that, in many cases, savings could already be identified during an on-site inspection even without measurement devices. The Benchmarking, started at the end of 2003 helps to clarify short comings in compressed air systems. However the quality of the output of such an approach is dependent on the widely acceptance of submitting own data to a neutral institution caring for the data.