Energy & Sustainability worked example

Compressed Air Leak Cost at 99% operating exposure captured: a worked example

What does the result look like when operating exposure captured reaches 99%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. a maintenance or energy manager needs to prioritize compressed-air leak repairs by cost impact

The inputs for this scenario

  • Estimated leak flow: 85 CFM (unchanged)
  • Annual energy cost per leaked CFM: 120 $ / CFM-yr (unchanged)
  • Operating exposure captured: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 95)
  • Repair labor and materials cost: 900 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Avoidable leak energy cost = estimated leak flow × annual energy cost per leaked CFM × operating exposure captured) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 10,998 $ for total leak cost and repair budget, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 129 $ / CFM for cost per leaked cfm.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 10,098 $ for avoidable annual leak energy cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 900 $ for repair labor and materials cost.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where operating exposure captured sits at 95% and the headline result is 10,590 $, this scenario comes in 3.85% above the baseline at 10,998 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when operating exposure captured is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. The $/CFM-yr figure bakes in your compressor efficiency, line pressure, and run hours; if those assumptions are off, the energy cost scales directly with them and the result is only as good as that rate.

Results at a glance

  • Total leak cost and repair budget: 10,998 $ (headline result)
  • Cost per leaked CFM: 129 $ / CFM
  • Avoidable annual leak energy cost: 10,098 $
  • Repair labor and materials cost: 900 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Compressed Air Leak Cost calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.