Compressed air cost $0.32 per 1000 cubic feet per minute (cfm) including investment and maintenance costs. Wouldn’t it be good if it was simple as that? Unfortunately, it is not.
Most manufacturing companies use compressed air in their production, to blow with either air nozzles or air blow guns. But few know how much they pay for compressed air. Some might not even consider that compressed air cost money since the company produces the compressed air with its own compressor. But it is not strange that few people know what compressed air costs, because there is no simple answer.
The cost depends on a lot of different parameters, which makes it hard to pinpoint a specific price. To calculate the specific cost, you must take the electricity agreement, maintenance cost, the compressor and the possibility to recycle the waste heat into consideration.
When we calculate the cost and savings for blowing with compressed air we use an estimated price of $0.32 per 1000 cf. The price is based on specific conditions but can use as a good benchmark when comparing and calculating. To find out what your compressed air cost, you must make the calculations based on your own conditions.