Are you tired of high energy bills and constantly repairing your compressed air equipment and distribution system? It might be time to consider an air audit from SIA Compressors & Generators. An air audit is a thorough examination of your complete compressed air distribution system to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement. In this blog, we'll show you seven key benefits to your air compressor system from an air audit:
- Energy Savings:
One of the most important factors for businesses, especially in 2023, is saving on energy costs.
A professional air audit can help to identify inefficiencies in your air compressor system from both the supply and demand side, such as leaks or incorrect sizing of equipment. As an air audit looks at the whole system, rather than just the compressor, any potential point where air is being lost, for example through leaks, will be identified. Areas where air is being lost, will create inefficiencies, which ultimately lead to higher energy costs.
Air Audits provide a full view of where and how inefficiencies have been created. Our SIA Engineers can then recommend the appropriate action, reducing wasted energy in the system, and increasing operational savings.
- Cost Reduction:
Running an ineffective system can lead to extensive and unnecessary costs. An SIA compressed air audit can help identify and prioritise areas for improvement where your system is not operating to its maximum efficiency.
This can include identifying and repairing air leaks, replacing worn parts, upgrading the system with more efficient components, correct sizing of the compressed air distribution system, or optimising air pressure levels and flow rates. With expertise from our trained engineers, a simple air audit can create a huge return on investment, as more efficient and longer-lasting components, or optimal operational set-up, can be recommended and put into action quickly.
- Increased Equipment Lifespan:
Getting the most from your equipment is important to every business. Ensuring that manufacturer-recommended genuine parts are used and performing to their optimum helps to reduce costs throughout the lifetime of your compressor. Air audits can help increase equipment life as they check areas of the system where potential leaks are occurring, which can help to reduce higher demand and power consumption at the air compressor (source).
Additionally, air audits highlight minor wear and tear, or potential areas where insufficient maintenance has been carried out, where issues can be attended to before developing into major damage.
- Improved Product Efficiency:
Your initial investment in high-performance premium manufactured equipment can only pay off in the long run if they are performing at their very best. However, system inefficiencies can arise over time, which causes reduced performance and wasted energy. Air audits identify real measurements throughout the system, in areas such as airflow, pressure, temperature, and quality of air, highlighting areas of stress or underperformance.
This means with the correct analysis from an SIA engineer, air compressors can work to their optimal level. By taking this overall approach to air audits, our engineers can provide recommendations to improve underperforming systems, ensuring a maximum return on investment for your compressed air equipment and distribution system.
- Compliance with Standards:
An air audit can ensure that your compressed air system is following relevant safety and environmental standards, such as the British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) guidance and codes of practice, HSE, and BSI regulations. Also, as recommended by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) guidelines for compressed air within the food and drinks industry.
When dealing with equipment such as air compressors, user and environmental safety is imperative, and comes with rigorous standards which must be met. An air audit not only checks for performance but also for compliance. Hefty fines and other penalties can be imposed on businesses that fail to comply with standards surrounding the safety of air compressor systems, as well as the potential for damage to products or injury to personnel within the working environment.
- Better Reliability:
When carried out by a trained SIA engineer, an air audit can review existing maintenance procedures and help to identify areas for improvement. Often a cause for wear and tear, improper maintenance routines, and non-genuine manufacturer-recommended parts can turn minor faults into greater problems short and long term. With an air audit, service scheduling, onsite monitoring techniques, and any training requirements can be highlighted and recommended.
With improvements to proactive system maintenance, your compressed air equipment can extend its lifecycle providing better reliability, more cost-efficient with the security that routine maintenance shall highlight any possible issues.
- Identify and Mitigate Risks:
One of the most important roles of an air audit is to identify and mitigate risks. Although SIA provides compressed air equipment that is manufactured to excellent standards, faults within air equipment can create significant hazards if not identified early.
Air audits provide one of the best ways to identify risks in your system, such as highlighting areas of leakage or pressure changes. They also check machinery such as compressors, dryers, filters, air receivers, and compressed air distribution systems for performance, highlighting any potential issues before they can develop into more expensive problems.
Furthermore, the quality of the air can also be checked. This can highlight any potential contamination (external or internal) coming from the compressed air system, which may lead to environmental or health risks within the area of operation.
How do I Organise an Air Audit?
With so many benefits to completing an air audit, the best time to organise is as soon as possible. The quicker you book an air audit for your system, the greater the potential benefits can be financially and most importantly for the integrity of the safety of your compressed air system. Our trained SIA engineers provide recommendations for your system and work collaboratively to ensure your full satisfaction and safety of your compressed air system.
To find out more about organising an Air Audit for your system and contact our friendly team today.
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