One of the best ways to ensure a compressed air system is running efficiently is to monitor key energy performance indicators (EnPIs) to determine if the system is meeting expectations. In 2016, the Canadian Standards Association released C837-16, a document intended to assist companies with energy management programs to set up monitoring of compressed air systems.
In 2019, CSA developed some online training modules to help the users and data collectors of C837 understand and use the standard. This online training is free of charge and is available on the CSA website at the links below (a CSA account sign-up is required, also free):
The CSA 837-16 standard is about baselining and energy performance measurement of compressed air systems and prescribes the adoption of four mandatory EnPIs:
System Specific Power (SSP) – This is an indicator of the power input to the system compared to the compressed air flow produced (kW/100 cfm or other appropriate units).- Total Energy Consumption – A measure of the total kilowatt hours consumed by the compressed air system measurement boundary.
- Specific Energy Consumption – An indicator of the amount of energy consumed per unit of production output (e.g. kWh per tonne)
- Portion of Non-Productive Use – An estimate of the average flow during non-production periods (usually mostly leakage) divided by the average system flow.
The standard allows any other performance indicators the system users feel is important to their system.
If you are a user of a compressed air energy management system — or if you measure compressed air systems on a temporary basis — then you should definitely check out this free training.
