Heiko Fleischhacker: Energy efficiency is crucial for the competitiveness and sustainability of any company. However, when looking at the compressed air system, I always notice that the focus is often only on power consumption. Many companies already rely on energy-efficient lighting or photovoltaics – but the potential in the compressed air system is often overlooked.
They usually limit their consideration of energy efficiency in compressed air to the compressors. Discussions about high costs often focus on compressed air generation. The entire compressed air system – from the generation to the use of compressed air – must be analyzed. This partial view means that valuable savings potential remains untapped.
Heiko Fleischhacker: Producing, distributing and processing compressed air in an energy-efficient way is complex. Although many customers are specialists in their own production processes, they have only limited knowledge of the compressed air systems they use. In my experience as an auditor, many customers do not know which setting screws they need to adjust in which order to achieve a sustainable increase in efficiency. Energy management officers and maintenance technicians often lack the necessary expert knowledge in pneumatics. Compressed air optimization goes far beyond eliminating leaks. It requires broad technological expertise and a holistic understanding of the compressed air system – from the compressor station to the pneumatic application. An example: A few weeks ago, I carried out an audit at an established pharmaceutical company. A particularly high quality of compressed air was produced there. However, no one ever questioned whether this was actually necessary for the production process. By making a small adjustment to the compressed air quality, we have achieved particularly rapid and sustainable energy savings. This makes it clear once again that a comprehensive consideration of the compressed air system, the compressed air requirements, and an in-depth understanding of pneumatics are essential.