Compressed air systems form the backbone of industrial manufacturing, are an essential component of medical facilities and are even responsible for keeping commercial food services running. Needless to say, many of the things that Americans have come to take for granted are only possible with the assistance of compressed air.

Compressed air systems provide consistent, responsive power to end-use applications. This power is essential for production plant operations who are looking to keep their employees productive while ensuring that they can complete operations safely and efficiently.

In many ways, the question of whether to replace or repair a compressed air system can be expressed as a mathematical problem. In other words, at which point does the money saved from a new system offset the cost of its purchase?

Luckily, many people have crunched the numbers on this question and have provided a nice basic framework for deciding which approach makes the most sense for your business.

According to PneumaticTips, it’s important to remember that, if you consider the overall cost of ownership of a compressed air system, assuming a ten-year life for the system, the purchase cost only accounts for about 12% of the total. Furthermore, 76% of the cost of owning a compressed air system comes in the form of electricity bills.
To put this in perspective, if you continuously run a 100-hp compressor at full power, you will spend $74,000 a year in energy costs, assuming a rate of 10 cents per kWh.

Therefore, if you are assessing the value of your compressed air system and making your decision in purely economic terms, you need to keep the total cost of ownership in the forefront of your mind. While the cost of repairs may be significantly less than the cost of replacing your system, ask yourself if you’re keeping a system working that’s actually costing you more in the long run by operating less efficiently.

These costs come in many different forms. First, as compressors age, the costs of repairs increase. That’s why you should carefully consider any repair that costs over 50% of the cost of a comparable replacement. But you also need to consider the operational inefficiencies and the subsequent costs of an older dental air compressor. Because of how inefficient some older models are, you may be wasting as much money on energy costs as you would spend on a new compressor.