APPLICATIONS Nobody setting out to design a compressed air system intends to build inefficiency into it, yet many electropneumatic installations operating across UK industry still reflect decisions made under very different circumstances. Rising energy costs were not always a boardroom concern, sustainability reporting rarely featured in procurement discussions and a machine that met its production targets was generally judged to be doing its job. The assumptions underpinning those decisions are now being tested more rigorously as manufacturers look beyond throughput and reliability to understand what systems cost to operate over their working lives. Few subjects generate less debate within the pneumatics sector than the cost of producing compressed air. What has changed is the extent to which that expense is influencing specification decisions. Customers purchasing new equipment increasingly want to understand how machines behave outside peak production, how much air is consumed during idle periods and what diagnostic information is available to support efficient operation after commissioning. Questions once confined to maintenance departments are finding their way into procurement meetings, capital investment discussions and sustainability reviews. Reassessment matters Evidence gathered by the British Compressed Air Society continues to reinforce why this reassessment matters. Through its 10% Taskforce, BCAS has called on UK businesses to take practical steps to reduce compressed air energy consumption by ten per cent, with the potential to save a combined £147.5 million in wasted electricity costs. Rather than presenting this as an argument for wholesale replacement of existing equipment, the campaign focuses on achievable measures that many organisations can implement using the systems they already have. Those recommendations challenge the longstanding acceptance that losses within compressed air systems are simply part of the cost of doing business. Walk through enough factories and a familiar pattern begins to emerge. The same leaks appear repeatedly around frequently disturbed connections, hoses suffer wear in predictable locations and temporary fixes gradually establish themselves as permanent solutions. Maintenance teams have always repaired faults when they became obvious, yet rising utility costs are encouraging a more structured approach that seeks to understand why losses occur and how they can be prevented from returning. Ultrasonic detection equipment allows systems to be surveyed while operating, helping engineers distinguish between isolated defects and recurring weaknesses linked to installation practices, environmental conditions or component choice. BCAS guidance also notes that relatively small leaks can have a disproportionate financial impact, with a 2 mm hole potentially costing more than £1,249 per year in wasted energy based on the electricity assumptions used within its guidance documents. Elsewhere in the same facilities, pressure settings often tell their own story about the history of a production line. Regulators increased to overcome restrictions, compensate for poorly performing actuators or satisfy changing process demands can remain untouched long after machinery layouts have evolved around them. BCAS guidance advises addressing the causes of pressure loss rather than generating compressed air at unnecessarily high pressures to overcome symptoms. Leaks, undersized pipework, poorly configured distribution systems and restrictions created by components within the network all warrant investigation before higher operating pressures become accepted as routine. The Society also notes that, on average, every additional bar of generation pressure results in around a seven per cent loss in specific energy, reinforcing the importance of understanding why pressure increases have been introduced in the first place. No universal formula There is no universal formula capable of predicting the savings that pressure 28 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS June 2026 www.hpmag.co.uk Rising energy costs and greater scrutiny of operating expenditure are encouraging manufacturers to challenge long-held assumptions about compressed air systems. What was once viewed primarily as a maintenance concern is increasingly influencing specification decisions, procurement strategies and the way electro-pneumatic performance is assessed throughout the life of an asset. Questioning old assumptions in electro-pneumatic design
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