Useful Data
Breakdown of Compressed Air Costs over 10 Years
Breakdown of Typical Plant Air Consumption
Compressor Control Comparison % Of Full Load BHP Versus % Of Full Load Capacity | ||||||
% of Compressor Capacity | Modulation (Inlet Valve) % FL BHP | Variable Displacement (Geometry) % FL BHP | On-Line / Off-Line |
Variable Speed Drive | ||
1 Gal/CFM | 3 Gal/CFM | 5 Gal/CFM | ||||
% FL BHP | % FL BHP | % FL BHP | % FL BHP | |||
100 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 |
95 | 98.50 | 96.00 | 101.51 | 100.49 | 99.95 | 95.20 |
90 | 97.00 | 92.00 | 100.44 | 98.36 | 97.28 | 90.40 |
85 | 95.50 | 88.20 | 99.28 | 96.11 | 94.51 | 85.60 |
80 | 94.00 | 84.70 | 98.02 | 93.71 | 91.61 | 80.80 |
75 | 92.50 | 81.50 | 96.64 | 91.17 | 88.59 | 76.00 |
70 | 91.00 | 78.30 | 95.12 | 88.46 | 85.43 | 71.20 |
65 | 89.50 | 75.40 | 93.45 | 85.57 | 82.10 | 66.40 |
60 | 88.00 | 73.00 | 91.58 | 82.49 | 78.63 | 61.60 |
55 | 86.50 | 70.80 | 89.49 | 79.19 | 75.02 | 56.80 |
50 | 85.00 | 69.00 | 87.13 | 75.67 | 71.25 | 52.00 |
45 | 83.50 | 64.60 | 84.44 | 71.89 | 67.34 | 47.20 |
40 | 82.00 | 60.20 | 81.35 | 67.80 | 63.28 | 42.40 |
35 | 80.50 | 55.80 | 77.76 | 63.41 | 59.06 | 37.60 |
30 | 79.00 | 51.40 | 73.53 | 58.76 | 54.69 | 32.80 |
25 | 77.50 | 47.00 | 68.51 | 53.84 | 50.15 | 28.00 |
20 | 76.00 | 42.60 | 62.48 | 48.65 | 45.46 | 23.20 |
15 | 74.50 | 38.20 | 55.19 | 43.17 | 40.60 | 18.40 |
10 | 73.00 | 33.80 | 46.26 | 37.41 | 35.57 | 13.60 |
5 | 71.50 | 29.40 | 36.19 | 31.36 | 30.37 | 8.80 |
0 | 70.00 | 25.00 | 27.33 | 26.30 | 26.09 | 4.00 |
Single shift operation / 10 hours per day / 5 days per week / $0.05 per kw |
| ||||||
HP | Full load power cost | 70% load | 70% load | 70% load | 50% load | 50% load | 50% load |
|
| modulation | On-Line / Off-Line | Econotrol | modulation | On-Line / Off-Line | Econotrol |
50 | 5,759.00 | 5,241.00 | 5,478.00 | N/A | 4,895.00 | 5,018.00 | N/A |
75 | 8,013.00 | 7,291.83 | 7,628.38 | 6,274.18 | 6,811.05 | 6,981.73 | 5,528.97 |
100 | 10,776.00 | 9,806.16 | 10,258.75 | 8,437.61 | 9,159.60 | 9,389.13 | 7,435.44 |
125 | 13,619.00 | 12,393.29 | 12,965.29 | 10,663.68 | 11,576.15 | 11,866.23 | 9,397.11 |
150 | 17,242.00 | 15,690.22 | 16,414.38 | 13,500.49 | 14,655.70 | 15,022.95 | 11,896.98 |
200 | 21,758.00 | 19,799.78 | 20,713.62 | 17,036.51 | 18,494.30 | 18,957.75 | 15,013.02 |
250 | 27,390.00 | 24,924.90 | 26,075.28 | 21,446.37 | 23,281.50 | 23,864.91 | 18,899.10 |
300 | 33,249.00 | 30,256.59 | 31,653.05 | 26,033.97 | 28,261.65 | 28,969.85 | 22,941.81 |
| Variable speed units | |||||||
| 70% Power Cost | 50% Power Cost |
| ||||
160HP | 11,754.60 | 8,139.30 | |||||
100HP | 7,362.00 | 5,265.00 | |||||
67HP | 4,978.00 | 3,528.00 | |||||
Sample power cost numbers | |||||||
Three shift operation / 24 hours per day / 7 days per week / $0.05 per kw | |||||||
HP | Full load power cost | 70% load | 70% load | 70% load | 50% load | 50% load | 50% load |
|
| modulation | On-Line / Off-Line | Econotrol | modulation | On-Line / Off-Line | Econotrol |
50 | 19,404.00 | 17,658.00 | 18,457.00 | N/A | 16,493.00 | 16,907.00 | N/A |
75 | 26,997.00 | 24,567.27 | 25,701.14 | 21,138.65 | 22,947.45 | 23,522.49 | 18,627.93 |
100 | 36,306.00 | 33,038.46 | 34,563.31 | 28,427.60 | 30,860.10 | 31,633.42 | 25,051.14 |
125 | 47,740.00 | 43,443.40 | 45,448.48 | 37,380.42 | 40,579.00 | 41,595.86 | 32,940.60 |
150 | 58,093.00 | 52,864.63 | 55,304.54 | 45,486.82 | 49,379.05 | 50,616.43 | 40,084.17 |
200 | 73,307.00 | 66,709.37 | 69,788.26 | 57,399.38 | 62,310.95 | 63,872.39 | 50,581.83 |
250 | 92,283.00 | 83,977.53 | 87,853.42 | 72,257.59 | 78,440.55 | 80,406.18 | 63,675.27 |
300 | 112,025.00 | 101,942.75 | 106,647.80 | 87,715.58 | 95,221.25 | 97,607.38 | 77,297.25 |
| Variable speed units | |||||||
| 70% Power Cost | 50% Power Cost |
| ||||
160HP | 39,495.46 | 27,348.05 | |||||
100HP | 24,886.00 | 17,740.00 | |||||
67HP | 16,771.00 | 11,887.00 | |||||
Cost of Air Leaks |
1/4" air leak at 100PSI consumes approximately 104CFM - which comes to a yearly power cost of $7,530.00 |
1/2" air leak at 100PSI consumes approximately 415CFM - which comes to a yearly power cost of $28,580.00 |



