A vital component to any manufacturing plant involves compressed air systems. The energy that compressed air produces is used for numerous types of tools and machinery that harness its power for a number of different purposes.

Within a plant that has a lot of compressed air dependent machinery, comes an elaborate network of piping that performs the function of distributing compressed air to the needed locations. Along with a lot of piping comes a lot of opportunity for air leaks and other inefficiencies. Large plants can lose thousands of dollars a month due to insufficient monitoring of undiscovered energy leaks of all sorts. 

In the case of leaky compressed air systems, they not only waste the energy source of air, but most importantly they waste very costly electricity.  Electricity is wasted as the electric compressor motors are constantly trying to make up for the air loss in consequence to leaky pipes.

A plant that wants to remain as energy efficient as possible will install safeguards that will help to prevent such energy wastes.  The use of compressed air flow meters will save a plant a lot of energy costs.  It does so by allowing plant operators to quickly become aware that there is a problem in the first place.  Also, compressed air flow meters will also help the plant operator accurately diagnose the source of the problem so it can be corrected as soon as possible.

In order to be as cost efficient as possible, a plant must possess more than the necessary infrastructure.  They must also possess a diagnostic capability that will keep the infrastructure free of costly problems.

Written by Seth Tachick for Fox Thermal Instruments (foxthermalinstruments.com)