Compressed Air Energy Saving Assessments (ESA) for the Automotive Supply Chain

This research is based on the energy saving opportunities in compressed air systems in seven manufacturing facilities in the automotive supply chain, located in the United States. These plants received compressed air Energy Saving Assessments (ESA) from the US Department of Energy (US DOE)/Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) as a part of the Save Energy Now (SEN) initiative. Data logging equipment were used to monitor the compressed air system. US DOE ITP BestPractices software tools AIRMaster+ and LogTool [Web: Best Practices Software Tools] and other spreadsheet tools were used to develop energy efficiency measures. The most prominent energy efficiency measures were found with respect to installation of automatic sequencers, reducing compressed air leaks, improving end use efficiency, and reducing the compressed air system pressure. Few other interesting energy efficiency measures are also discussed. The paper describes the pre-assessment, assessment, and post assessment activities and the methods that were used to make the assessment effective and beneficial to the plant personnel. The paper discusses the recommended and implemented compressed air energy efficiency measures at the manufacturing facilities. The paper summarizes and derives trends and conclusions from the synthesized results of the assessments.