11/15/2018 How much does your compressed air cost?

How much does your

compressed air cost?

How to calculate your operating cost for blowing

with compressed air - in 3 easy steps
1. Begin by finding out how much energy the compressor uses during an hour and
how much compressed air is produced during the same time. Use a flowmeter to find
out the amount of produced compressed air. It is important that you find out how
many cubic feet that are produced per hour.

Convert cubic feet per minute to cubic feet per hour:

Amount of produced compressed air per minute * 60 minutes = Amount of cubic feet per
hour. 

2. Now you have the knowledge about how many kilowatts the compressor uses per
hour and how many cubic feet compressed air that is produced each hour. To be able
to calculate the cost of one cubic feet of compressed air you need to know how many
kWh it takes to produce one cubic feet compressed air.

Number of kWh / number of cubic feet produced during that hour=

number of kWh it takes to produce one cubic feet compressed air.

3. In the last step you need to know the cost of electricity per kWh.

Number of kWh / cubic feet compressed air * cost per kWh = the cost per produced cubic
feet of compressed air.

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11/15/2018 How much does your compressed air cost?

Compressed air cost in USD

The compressor uses 37 kWh and produces 214.7 cubic feet compressed air per minute.

214.7 cfm *60 minutes = 12882 cubic feet per hour.

The compressor uses 37 kWh and produces 12882 cf/h.

37kWh / 12882 cf/h = 0.00287 kWh / cf

To produce one cubic feet it takes 0.00287 kWh. 

The electricity cost per kWh is $0.0725.

00287 kWh/cf * $0.0725 = $0.000208 /cf

This is equal to $0.000208 * 1000 cf = $0.208 per 1000 cf.

Compressed air cost in EUR

The compressor uses 37 kWh and produces 6080 liters per minute.

6080 l/min *60 minutes = 364.8 m3/h 

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11/15/2018 How much does your compressed air cost?

Compressed air cost in EUR

The compressor uses 37 kWh and produces 364.8 m3/h

37kWh / 364.8 m3/h = 0.101 kWh/m3

To produce one cubic meter it takes 0.101 kWh.

The electricity cost per kWh is 0.112 EUR.

101 kWh/m3 * 0.112 EUR. = 0.0113 EUR/m3

The electricity cost is 0.0113 EUR/m3.

…but the cost does not just depend on the

electricity price.
To make a truthful overview of the cost both maintenance, installation and other costs
should be included. In the compressor industry it is common to say that the electricity
costs stand for about 70% of the total cost during a ten-year period. To finish the
calculation, the final cost should be divided by 70% to get the total cost including
other costs.

$0.208 per 1000 cf / 0.7 = $0.297 ~ $0.3 / cf

The total cost of compressed air is therefore $0.3 USD per 1000 cf.

0.0113 EUR/m3 / 0.7 = 0.016 EUR / Nm3

The total cost of compressed air is therefore 0.016 EUR per Nm3.

How do I minimize the use of compressed air?

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11/15/2018 How much does your compressed air cost?

It is first when you have calculated the total amount of used compressed air during a
month or a year you actually understand the actual cost. Therefor it can be good to
measure how much compressed air is used and investigate the saving possibilities.
There are a lot of easy adjustments that will have large impact on the bottom line. It is
not just economic benefits for the company but also a good way to become more
climate friendly.

   

How to lower your

compressed air usage by
50% in just two minutes.
Read more about how easy it is to energy optimize your
compressed air usage.

Read more

SILVENT

Silvent helps manufacturers with energy

optimization and improved working
environments. The headquarters is in Sweden
where all research and development are done.
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11/15/2018 How much does your compressed air cost?

The company has unique expertise in the area of

compressed air dynamics. Silvent’s air guns, air
knives, air nozzles, silencers and customized
solutions for blowing with compressed air are
used by leading manufacturers, in over 75
countries. Silvent is part of Lifco Group that is
listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.

CONTACT

Silvent Headquarters
Vevgatan 15
SE-504 64 Borås
Sweden
Tel: +46 33-23 79 00
Fax: +46 33-23 79 10
Email: info@silvent.se

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