- \n
- A stopped line often keeps consuming compressed air.<\/li>\n
- The site meter shows nights and weekends, not daytime stops.<\/li>\n
- Matching machine states with air flow reveals air used without producing.<\/li>\n
- Act on the most expensive state first, then measure again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
Compressed air does not stop when the line stops<\/h2>\n
Maxime Laffers, an industrial energy efficiency expert at OXA Groupe, a French firm focused on energy performance for mid-sized and small manufacturers, published Air comprim\u00e9 industrie : 7 leviers pour -20 % d’\u00e9nergie<\/a> (in French). He reviews the levers on the supply and network side: hunting leaks, lowering the pressure setpoint, variable-speed drives, compressor sequencing, shutting compressors down outside production, matching air treatment to real needs and recovering heat. He also presents the compressed air energy performance indicator, expressed in kWh per Nm\u00b3, and the French energy savings certificates (CEE) that fund these actions. On leaks, which compressors absorb without triggering any alarm, he sums it up: “Pendant ce temps, les kilowattheures s\u2019accumulent.” (in the meantime, the kilowatt-hours keep piling up).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That line applies to machines too. The OXA Groupe article deals with producing and distributing air. This one looks at the other end of the network: machine demand, depending on machine state. A site meter tells you how much air the plant uses. It does not tell you whether that air made parts, or was blown while a line waited for material.<\/p>\n
What a line consumes when it is not producing<\/h2>\n
When a machine stops, not all of its air consumers stop with it. Depending on the equipment, you will often find:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Blow-off guns and nozzles<\/strong> left open or running continuously for cleaning, drying or ejection.<\/li>\n
- Machine-level leaks<\/strong>: worn fittings, hoses, valves and cylinders that leak whether the machine runs or not.<\/li>\n
- Venturi vacuum generators<\/strong>, which use air as long as they are supplied.<\/li>\n
- Drains, air cooling and air curtains<\/strong>, often left on by default.<\/li>\n
- Repressurizing a branch<\/strong> at every restart, when the isolation valve was closed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
At night and at weekends, this consumption shows up on the site meter because nothing else is running. During the day, it disappears into production consumption. Yet that is where unplanned stops, waiting time, micro-stops and changeovers hide.<\/p>\n
![\"Four-step](\"https:\/\/teeptrak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/teeptrak-air-comprime-arret-en.png\")
<\/figure>\nMachine state and air consumption: a reading grid<\/h2>\n
Each machine state leaves a different signature on air consumption. Use this table as a reading grid when you put both data series side by side.<\/p>\n
- Machine-level leaks<\/strong>: worn fittings, hoses, valves and cylinders that leak whether the machine runs or not.<\/li>\n
- Blow-off guns and nozzles<\/strong> left open or running continuously for cleaning, drying or ejection.<\/li>\n