Compressed Air Cost & Leak Estimator
Put in your compressor motor size, how hard it works, and your power rate, and this works out roughly what it costs to make your plant air for a year — and how much of that is blowing out through leaks. All the math is shown, and nothing leaves your browser.
Your numbers
The rated motor power off the nameplate. Pick the unit you have. This is the motor, not the delivered air — a 100 hp compressor has a 100 hp motor.
Horsepower (hp) or kilowatts (kW). 1 hp ≈ 0.746 kW.
How hard the compressor works on average across the hours it is on. A fixed-speed unit that loads and unloads a lot might average 50–70%; a well-matched or variable-speed drive (VSD) unit runs higher. If you are not sure, 65% is a fair starting point — check against your machine's own duty.
How much of the electrical power reaches the shaft. A modern premium-efficiency motor sits around 92–95%. This does not include air-end losses; it just converts electrical draw to shaft work. Typical — verify against your motor's efficiency class.
Your blended cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) off the utility bill, including demand charges if you want a fuller picture. Northern California industrial rates often land near $0.18–$0.25/kWh — use your actual bill.
Hours per year the compressor is energized and running. One shift, five days is roughly 2,000; two shifts is roughly 4,000; around the clock is 8,760.
Share of the air you make that never does useful work — it just leaks out. Quick gauge with the plant idle and no production demand: watch the compressor over several load/unload cycles and time how long it runs loaded versus unloaded. Loaded time ÷ (loaded + unloaded) is roughly your leak fraction, since with nothing running that air is going to leaks. That timing check works on a load/unload machine; a variable-speed drive (VSD) unit won't cycle that way, so instead read its power draw or flow with the plant idle. Plants that have never chased leaks often land 20–35%; a tight, maintained system is under 10%.
Where you think you could get leaks with a survey-and-repair round. Under 10% is a realistic well-kept target for most plants.