The Challenge
An electronics contract manufacturer with five variable-speed compressors had never reviewed its compressor scheduling since commissioning seven years earlier. Compressors were set to start at 06:00 and stop at 23:00. Actual production ran different windows with a 90-minute changeover where no pneumatic tools or processes operated.
The 2-hour non-production window — early starts, late stops, and changeover gaps — affected all five compressors every day. At an average draw of 18 kW per running compressor, the unnecessary daily runtime represented approximately 180 kWh. Electricity consumed to supply air to a factory that wasn't using it, on every single day for seven years.
What Changed
Runtime monitoring with production-schedule overlay. Automated start/stop recommendations based on actual production windows. Visibility into compressor compliance versus schedule.
The schedule change required only an operational decision — no capital investment. Compressors were set to start 15 minutes before production (to pre-charge the system) and stop 10 minutes after production ends (to allow pressure to dissipate safely). Non-productive runtime dropped from approximately 120 minutes per day across the fleet to 25 minutes.
Results
zero capital investment required
achieved within first month
“Compressor scheduling is the lowest-cost energy intervention available — it requires only a policy change, not a capital investment. But it is only actionable when you have the data to see what the compressors are actually doing versus what they should be doing. Runtime monitoring creates the baseline that makes scheduling improvement possible.”