Compressed Air Optimisation for Kinetic

Kinetic's Onehunga depot was operating an oversized compressor that was consuming significantly more power than the site required. Industrial Air Systems conducted a detailed analysis of the depot's actual air demand, backed by controller data, and recommended a right-sized replacement over an expensive repair to an inefficient machine. The result was annual energy savings of $20,880 and a payback period of around five months.

Controller data from the Onehunga depot showed the compressor running 100% of the time at only 20-40% of its capacity, consuming an estimated $31,320 per year in electricity for a site that didn't require that output. When the OEM cooler began failing, sourcing a replacement from Belgium carried an estimated cost of $8,000, and with installation and additional repairs factored in, the total approached the cost of a new, correctly sized machine.

IAS had already worked across a number of Kinetic's other sites, so when Onehunga needed attention, they were brought in to assess the situation. Other suppliers were proposing a like-for-like replacement, which would have carried the same inefficiencies forward. IAS took a different approach.

With the new compressor operating at the right capacity for the site, electricity costs dropped from an estimated $31,320 per year to $10,440, annual savings of approximately $20,880. At that rate, the investment paid for itself in around five months.

The $8,000 cooler repair was avoided entirely, and the depot is no longer carrying the ongoing service costs that come with running an oversized machine. The upgrade also reduces the depot's carbon emissions by approximately 10.7 tonnes of CO₂ per year, a tangible contribution to Kinetic's broader sustainability objectives as they transition their Auckland fleet toward zero emissions.