The Challenge
An auto components plant operating six fixed-speed compressors saw electricity costs rise 18% over two years without any corresponding increase in production output. The energy team had no line-level data — only the monthly bill. Compressor loading patterns were unknown.
The compressors were sized for peak demand — a 15-minute burst of high air consumption during shift startup. Outside that window, they were running loaded at 60–80% capacity for no productive purpose. Fixed-speed compressors cannot throttle: they are either fully loaded or unloaded, wasting around 25% power while producing no air. During shift changeovers and lunch breaks, at least two compressors continued running at full load even though all pneumatic tools and processes were idle.
What Changed
TuskIQ monitored compressor power draw, load/unload cycles, delivery pressure, and flow in real time across all six units. Load profiles became visible hour-by-hour, shift-by-shift.
Within 48 hours, four of the six compressors were shown to be spending 60–70% of their runtime in the unloaded state — consuming power but delivering no air. The fix was sequencing: two compressors designated as baseload, one as trim, three held on standby. Sequencing was built on actual demand profiles, not guesswork. Unloaded runtime dropped from 68% to 11% of total compressor hours within the first month.
Results
within 3 months
from sequencing alone
“Fixed-speed compressors in the unloaded state don't deliver air — they consume power and add heat. When six compressors are running unloaded because no one has visibility into what is actually needed, the waste is structural, not incidental. Sequencing compressors based on real demand profiles is one of the fastest-payback interventions in compressed air management — but only possible when you can see the load patterns.”