Are IoT compressed air solutions worth the investment?
IoT solutions are everywhere. From litterbins and air quality sensors through to soil monitoring and bike helmet crash sensors, there’s simply no escaping the profound effect that IoT has had on society. So it’s no surprise, then, that IoT compressed air solutions are gaining momentum in the world of air compressors, too.
But are they worth the investment? Before we answer that question, let’s start at the beginning.
Compressed air is expensive, accounting for around 10 per cent of manufacturing energy. The result? Energy managers and sustainability managers around the world continually asking themselves ‘how can I make my air compressors more efficient?’
Historically, air compressor management has been done manually. This has seen maintenance staff continually checking air compressor efficiency levels, processing and interpreting data from each compressed air asset (which takes huge amounts of time), making a compressed air management decision based on that reading, and then repeating the exercise over, and over, and over again.
And that’s just for one air compressor! If there are multiple air compressors in operation, then that exercise has to be repeated multiple times – even before you consider how efficiently the system is working as a whole. This video perfectly sums up the challenge.
21st century compressed air monitoring
Thankfully, there’s an easier way – one that takes away the onerous responsibility for data analysis away from people and places it the hands of compressed air monitoring software. In fact, through smart air compressor monitoring, solutions such as AIRMATICSTM can manage an interconnected number of air compressors – in real time.
The benefits of air compressor monitoring using IoT technology are as follows?
- Reduce air compressor energy bills by up to 30 per cent
- Air compressor optimisation – via IoT technology, each air compressor will only run when it needs to
- Prolong the lifespan of each air compressor (if there’s never any overuse, there’s less wear and tear)
- Sustainable compressed air management – If you’re only using what you need to, then there’s never any wastage, both in terms of compressed air wastage and cost
So, yes, IoT compressed air monitoring solutions are worth the investment. In fact, we predict that this technology will become a standard requirement over the next 12 months and an essential tool in supporting an ISO50001 energy management system.
Read our compressed air management case studies
From major tobacco plants to bottling plants for some of the world’s most prominent brands, AIRMATICSTM has saved manufacturers tens of thousands of pounds each year on an investment that takes only months to pay back.
Read more about what we’ve done and how we’ve done it via our AIRMATICSTM case study page. Alternatively, contact a member of the CMC team via our contact form or call one of our global offices.