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What are your air leaks costing you?

Count the leaks, by hole size or by the tags from an ultrasonic survey, and see what they cost you every year. Then put that next to what the compressor costs to run.

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Count the leaks

updates as you type

How did you find them?

Ultrasonic tags By hole size

Small tags Only the detector hears it. Counted as a 1/32" hole. Medium tags You hear it up close. Counted as a 1/16" hole. Large tags You hear it from across the bay. Counted as a 1/8" hole.

Small, medium, and large are counted as 1/32", 1/16", and 1/8" equivalent holes. That mapping is our convention so every number traces back to the DOE table below; if your survey logged CFM per tag, use the hole-size view instead.

Your system

Line pressure (psi) Hole shape Hours under air per year One shift, 5 days: about 2,000. Around the clock: 8,760. Power cost ($ per kWh) From your utility bill, all-in. kW per CFM Typical 0.18 to 0.20. Older or part-loaded machines run higher.

Source: leak CFM by hole size and pressure from the US DOE / Compressed Air Challenge Sourcebook leaks fact sheet and DOE Compressed Air Tip Sheet #3, "Minimize Compressed Air Leaks". The table is for an ideal nozzle; the source says multiply by 0.97 for a rounded hole and 0.61 for a sharp-edged one. Pressures between columns are interpolated. Cost = CFM x kW per CFM x hours x $ per kWh, and the 0.18 to 0.20 kW per CFM range, from the same tip sheet.

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What the compressor costs to run

for the share above

Compressor HP Average load (%) How hard it works on average across the hours. Motor efficiency From the motor nameplate.

Source: running cost = HP x 0.746 x hours x $ per kWh x load / motor efficiency, from US DOE Compressed Air Tip Sheet #1, "Determine the Cost of Compressed Air for Your Plant". Hours and power cost come from the leak section above.

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Leak rate table

CFM, ideal nozzle

Hole	70 psi	80 psi	90 psi	100 psi	125 psi
1/64"	0.29	0.32	0.36	0.4	0.48
1/32"	1.16	1.26	1.46	1.55	1.94
1/16"	4.66	5.24	5.72	6.31	7.66
1/8"	18.62	20.76	23.1	25.22	30.65
1/4"	74.4	83.1	92	100.9	122.2
3/8"	167.8	187.2	206.6	227	275.5

Source: US DOE / Compressed Air Challenge Sourcebook leaks fact sheet; DOE Compressed Air Tip Sheet #3. Multiply by 0.97 for a well-rounded hole and 0.61 for a sharp one.

Fixing what you found?

Send us the list. We'll quote the fittings, couplers, hose, and FRLs to fix the leaks, and the tags and detector if you want to keep a survey going.

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