Air compressor efficiency in a Vietnamese enterprise

Compressed air systems in a Vietnamese footwear manufacturing enterprise consume about 10% of enterprise's total electric power supply. Energy efficiency of these air compressor systems, either equipped with new and efficient compressors or old and inefficient ones, can only reach between 5% and 10%. In other words, regardless whatever air compressors were installed, energy loss from the compressor systems was over 80%. This study discovered that energy loss was due to non-optimized operations of the air compressor systems and air leakages. The objectives of the paper are to uncover energy saving potential in Vietnamese air compressor systems, demonstrate methodologies used in the auditing and assessment, share auditing and assessment results, and serve a guide on how to analyze energy efficiency in a compressed air system. This paper concludes that energy efficiency investment in air compressor systems in the Vietnamese enterprise could be extremely cost-effective. If the enterprise invests USD 84,000 in the air compressors to improve efficiency performance, the investment capital will be recovered in about six months. The net present value of the investment will be about USD 864,000 at a discount rate of 12%.