Every extra bar of pressure costs energy. If your tools need 6 bar and your compressor runs at 10 bar, you're wasting about 30% of your energy.

What you'll see

High energy bills with no obvious mechanical fault. The compressor is perfectly healthy -- it's just set too high for what the application actually needs. People often set the pressure high 'just in case' or because one machine needs high pressure while everything else needs much less.
Before you assume this is the problem

See all causes of high energy use →

How to diagnose

  1. Survey actual pressure requirements

    What do your end users actually need? Most air tools work at 6-6.5 bar (90 psi). Manufacturing equipment varies. Find the highest actual requirement and add a margin for pressure drop in the piping -- typically 0.5-1 bar. That's your optimal compressor setpoint.

    Result: Setpoint significantly above actual need = opportunity to reduce.

How to fix it

  1. Lower the setpoint

    Reduce the compressor setpoint to match actual demand plus a reasonable margin. Each bar reduction saves approximately 6-7% energy. Going from 10 bar to 7 bar saves about 20% on energy.

  2. Fix pressure drop instead of raising pressure

    If you need 7 bar at the point of use but pressure drop in the piping eats 2 bar, fix the piping (bigger pipes, ring layout, fewer restrictions) rather than running the compressor at 9 bar. Modern target: maximum 0.1 bar system pressure drop.

Common mistakes

Don't run the whole system at high pressure because one machine needs it. Install a booster for that one machine and run the rest at lower pressure.

Parts & tools

No parts needed -- just adjust the controller setpoint. Pressure gauges at point of use for surveys.

Review safety precautions before starting →