What is Compressed air leaks?

What it is

Compressed air is one of the most expensive utilities in a factory, because compressors turn only a small share of their input power into useful air energy and lose most of it as heat. Every leak is air the plant has paid to compress and then lost.

Leaks are hard to hear in a running plant and tend to grow over time. They also cause pressure drops that lead operators to raise the system setpoint, which increases energy use across the whole system.

The clearest sign of leakage is compressor load during non-production hours. If compressors are still loading when lines are stopped, much of that air is leaking.

Who it applies to / where it is used

Compressed air leaks affect almost every manufacturing site: FMCG, food and beverage, packaging, automotive, textiles and pharmaceuticals. Utility managers and maintenance teams own leak programs, often with periodic ultrasonic surveys.

How it is measured / what evidence it needs

Leak loss can be estimated from compressor behavior when there is no production demand, and confirmed by finding and tagging leaks.

• Compressor power and load or unload state
• Air flow from a flow meter on the main header
• System pressure at the compressor and at points of use
• Air demand during non-production hours as a leak proxy
• Before and after measurements when leaks are repaired

How Aqueduct helps

Aqueduct watches compressed air continuously, so leakage shows up as a measured base load instead of an annual survey finding.

• aQ EnergySmart meters compressor power and calculates energy per unit of air delivered
• Off-shift and weekend air demand is tracked as a leak indicator with alerts when it rises
• Repair tickets go into the customer's CMMS, and the meter verifies the drop after repair
• Where control is enabled, with owner approval, compressors and isolation valves can follow production schedules