By reducing leakage level you contribute to reducing CO2 emissions. The energy used for compressed air production in the EU is equivalent to 7.5 nuclear power stations.

If all companies in the EU could reduce their air consumption by 20% which is a perfectly achievable goal, that would be equivalent of 1.5 nuclear power stations.

Increased awareness of the impact of compressed air reductions on the environment has led to more companies including compressed air management and leakage detection in their environmental policies.

Fair is Free - Until it's compressed
The absence of financial control and accounting procedures for compressed air cost and usage are largely due to a widespread belief that it is a "free" resource.

Air is free - until it's compressed. It then becomes the most expensive energy source on site, requiring 10 units of electrical energy to produce one unit of compressed air. Typically, at least 10% of an industrial company's electricity is used to generate compressed air. Compressed air has been considered an expensive media for decades. Since year 2000 the energy prices have almost quadrupled, this of course has had a severe impact on the cost of compressed air.

Of this expensive resource, up to 50% is wasted, completely unnecessarily. So long as compressed air is present to keep production going, its uncontrolled usage and waste is mostly ignored.

Leakage Management - The greatest saving potential
The EU study - "Compressed air systems in the EU" has identified that leakage management stands for the greatest measure that provide the greatest savings in a compressed air system.

In addition to stand for 42% of the greatest saving potentials, Leakages Management has by far the shortest payback time, with less than 6 months. It is for this simple reason the logical start for any company that seriously want to reduce the production of compressed air.

Reducing waste and Reduced CO₂ will Reduce cost
Reducing obvious waste and at the same time reducing CO₂ emission whilst adding profits to the bottom line within a year may seem too good to be true. However many companies have already experienced the results that the LeekSeek concept can provide. In addition to direct reduction on consumption, reducing leakages in a system and optimising machine applications allows a system to be run at a lower pressure. A lower pressure means less energy is required and less wear on equipment.  

For many companies this had led to more than 40% reductions in compressed air usage.

Without establishing a cost for compressed air, monitoring its use and understanding the environmental impact the cost will remain comfortably hidden in the electrical bill. You will never see the potential in energy and CO₂ savings. When more air is needed, the easier short term solution will be to buy another compressor, not to address the waste issues.

A very interesting comparison
If we look at the potential CO₂ reduction on compressed air usage in EU and compare that amount with conversion to hybrid cars the numbers speaks for themselves of what measure we should focus on. Here is an example;

Total consumption for production of compressed air in EU is 80 TWh per year. This is equivalent to 43.000.000 tons of CO₂. 50% of that is totally wasted in mainly leakages and misuse.

A standard car has an annual emission of circa 3 tons of CO_2. A hybrid car would have with same annual mileage an emission of 2.08 tons of CO_2. The gain to convert from standard to hybrid car would then be 0.92 tons per year (30%). This means that it would take a conversion of more than 23 million cars per year to reach to the same result.

If we look at compressed air consumer of 200 kWh (~35 cbm/min), his annual emission on compressed air production would be roughly 940 ton CO₂ per year. A leakage level of 35% would then represent 329 ton of CO₂ per year. That means he would need to convert 360 cars to hybrids to get the same effect on his CO₂ reduction compared to removing leakages in his compressed air system. The financials in each activity address even more which alternative that is best for the company. The investment to convert 358 cars to hybrids is € 9 millions, when the savings in pure energy to reduce leakages would be € 65.700 per year.

Factors:

• CO₂ emission on electricity: 537 gr/kWh
• CO₂ emission on standard car: 150 gr/km.
• CO₂ emission on hybrid car: 104 gr/km.
• Purchase price hybrid car: € 25.000

Calculate your company's potential savings and CO₂ reductions
On the LeekSeek website you can easilly calculate your company's saving potentials and CO₂ reduction potentials. Just got to the menu "Calculate Your Savings" and chose your preferred language and denominations. Instantly you will have all the finacials on Leakage Managment, estimated repair cost and potential savings. The calualtion will also indicate your potential reduction in CO₂ emission.

CO2 reduction that is achievable within the next year
A correctly implemented leakage management programme will provide immediate CO₂ and energy reductions. With a pay-back on investment that is less than 6 months there is no excuse not to address the issue. With more than 5000 projects behind us there are virtually no restrictions or limitations in implementing a programme in all types or sizes of industry. The LeekSeek Group are able to put more than 30 fully trained technicians on site if required for large plants that require immediate and comprehensive assistance.