Compressed air is quick and cheap to set up for blowing and drying, but its ongoing energy costs make it an inefficient and expensive long-term solution. Blower-driven Air Knife Systems are typically 7–9 times cheaper to run than compressed air over a 12 month period. Choose the installation closest to yours below to see the figures for your own line.
3,120 running hours per year 12 h × 5 days × 52 weeks
Your annual savings
£56,745
2,500mm Air Knife · 3,120 running hours a year · £0.25/kWh @ 140mbar | 1.4mm slot
Years 1–3 are covered by our 3 year warranty. Systems routinely run far longer: many well-maintained SolvAir blowers are still in operation with clients after more than 20 years.
| Cost | Compressed air | SolvAir blower | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per running hour | £20.94 | £2.75 | £18.19 |
| Per day (12 h) | £251.25 | £33.00 | £218.25 |
| Per week (5 days) | £1,256.25 | £165.00 | £1,091.25 |
| Per year | £65,325 | £8,580 | £56,745 |
| Over seven years | £457,275 | £60,060 | £397,215 |
250 cm × 3.35 m³/hr per cm = 837.5 m³/hr.837.5 × 0.1 kW = 83.8 kW.250 cm × 7.2 m³/hr per cm = 1,800 m³/hr.12 h × 5 days × 52 weeks = 3,120 hours.261,300 kWh against 34,320 kWh, a difference of 226,980 kWh you do not buy.£65,325 against £8,580, saving £56,745 a year.Cumulative figures assume today's rate with no price rises. Sources: the 3.35 m³/hr per cm figure is published on Air Knife consumption; the blower-side figure per cm is from the Air Knife specification tables and the per-model blower ratings from SolvAir's Technical Selection Chart; the 0.1 kW per m³/hr factor is SolvAir's own, rounded down from three compressor data sheets measuring 0.107, 0.113 and 0.114.
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Size a blower from your Air Knife length and quantity, or price the compressed air you already run.
Open the full calculatorCompressed air and blower systems have the same job to do: generate a high flow of air at a good impact velocity.
Compressed air systems release their air to atmospheric pressure, so they have to generate pressures of up to 6 bar. Compressed air is also often the most expensive energy source a manufacturer uses, and system losses are high: as little as 10% of the energy it uses is converted into usable energy.
A blower system reaches the same velocity at pressures of no more than 0.25 bar, and most applications need only around 140 mbar.
That difference in working pressure is what separates the industry-standard compressed air approach from a purpose-designed blower system.
| Specification | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| A:Inlet Capacity m³/min | 6.31 | 11.6 | 42.3 |
| B: Converted to m³/hour (A x 60) | 378.6 | 696 | 2538 |
| C: Compressor Power kW | 42.6 | 79.3 | 271.9 |
| Power (C) ÷ Air Capacity (B) = kW per m³/hour | 0.1125 | 0.1139 | 0.1071 |
| Industrial Application | Compressed Air | Blower System |
|---|---|---|
| Intermittent Air Flow | Compressed air can be the best solution if airflow is required intermittently, and your process only needs a 5-second blow-off every minute. | Whilst blowers opperate continually intermittent air flow is possible with the use of a solenoid air valves. |
| Continuous Air Flow | Not suitable for applications which require an airflow of more than 5 seconds every minute. | Concentrated air flow, able to run continuously 24/7 at low cost and with energy efficiency. |
| Blow-off | Ineffective at blow-off for most industries. Compressed air is only effective at targeted close range blow-off. | Low pressure, high-velocity air flow suitable for a wide range of blow-off applications. |
| Contamination | The cooling process needed to maintain compressed air means some fluid (oil and/or water) is ejected in the airstream, affecting drying applications. | Generates clean air - no air or oil needed in the system, meaning expelled air is dry. Able to create “air curtain” protective barriers. |
| Moisture Regulation | High cost to run continuously, difficult to ensure precision needed for moisture regulation. | Air flow able to be easily directed, to create an “air curtain” laminar air flow that adheres to surfaces, meaning it can remove or regulate moisture on a surface as needed. |
| Large Products | Small air outlet slots mean the size and energy requirements needed to deliver air over longer lengths are disproportionately large. | Air Knives available in 10mm increments up to 3.5metres. Capacity for large scale Air Knives easily supports large product drying/blow-off/moisture and contamination control. |
Compressed air is most commonly used where a process needs intermittent bursts of air, or air that has been compacted.
Typical uses include pneumatic drills, power tools, air cylinders for automation, air brakes and sandblasting.
Air Blowers are used where the air needs to flow continuously, or where a high-velocity air stream is needed.
Typical uses include removing or controlling water on products, creating sterile environments for research, and pre- and post-production processes such as painting or processing in ovens and furnaces.
Tesla had 24 employees across a 24-hour period cleaning its body/framework with compressed air, because the product was dirty after production and showed imperfections. SolvAir solved…
AB InBev is the world’s largest brewer, with production lines running at 37,000 to 50,000 bottles an hour. Moisture under the metal crown caps of its…
DAREGAL is a leading international culinary herb producer, and it needed to dry bottles and bulk bags on one production line. Separate lines would have meant…
Saica Pack UK produces cardboard cartons for the fast moving consumer goods sector, and waste material building up inside its BOBST machine was forcing frequent interruptions…
Audi Brussels dried its car shells before the final coating with an energy-intensive compressed air system that was potentially compromising production quality. SolvAir replaced it with…
Standard Profil relied on compressed air for the drying process on each of its five production lines, with every line consuming 3417 litres/minute and driving up…
Nissan’s vehicle shells entered the paint line carrying airborne particles from the assembly area, and the dust left imperfections in the final paint finish. SolvAir solved…
Prysmian USA makes cable at its facility in Scottsville, Texas, where drying with compressed air meant high energy consumption and operational costs. SolvAir replaced it with…
Thai Union is a fish processor whose high-volume operations handle 36,000 cans an hour. Residual water on the cans was compromising inkjet coding quality and hygiene,…
Decoma UK, part of the Magna Group, makes plastic automotive parts in Liverpool, where inefficient drying in its paint preparation area was causing unacceptable paint job…
Sources: British Compressed Air Society (BCAS); Carbon Trust.
Factories often use compressed air for cleaning, drying and blow-off because the supply is already in place, so it can be repurposed quickly and at minimal additional cost.
Yes. Blower systems generally outperform compressed air because they work at much higher flow rates.
Our blower range runs from 2.2kW to 15kW, and across that range we average a typical output of 180mm of width per kW of power consumed.
A typical fan nozzle (40–50mm wide), of the kind seen on many manufacturing sites, consumes:
Our blower range runs from 2.2kW to 15kW and averages a typical output of 180mm of width per kW consumed. So the 5.07 kW a single fan nozzle uses to cover 40–50mm would let one of our blower systems drive an air stream more than 900mm wide.
The table below compares the two per kW of power, using data from the data sheets of a leading compressor manufacturer:
| Slot Coverage | Round Nozzles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per kW | Compressor (fan nozzles @ 7 bar), width in mm |
Blower (Air Knife), width in mm |
Difference | Compressor (no. of 2mm Ø nozzles @ 6 bar) |
Blower (no. of 10mm Ø nozzles) |
||
| 1 | 10 | 180 | 170 | 0.64 | 2.25 | ||
| 2 | 20 | 360 | 340 | 1.28 | 4.5 | ||
| 3 | 30 | 540 | 510 | 1.92 | 6.75 | ||
| 4 | 40 | 720 | 680 | 2.56 | 9 | ||
| 5 | 50 | 900 | 850 | 3.2 | 11.25 | ||
| 6 | 60 | 1080 | 1020 | 3.84 | 13.5 | ||
| 7 | 70 | 1260 | 1190 | 4.48 | 15.75 | ||
| 8 | 80 | 1440 | 1360 | 5.12 | 18 | ||
| 9 | 90 | 1620 | 1530 | 5.76 | 20.25 | ||
| 10 | 100 | 1800 | 1700 | 6.4 | 22.5 | ||
| 11 | 110 | 1980 | 1870 | 7.04 | 24.75 | ||
| 12 | 120 | 2160 | 2040 | 7.68 | 27 | ||
| 13 | 130 | 2340 | 2210 | 8.32 | 29.25 | ||
| 14 | 140 | 2520 | 2380 | 8.96 | 31.5 | ||
| 15 | 150 | 2700 | 2550 | 9.6 | 33.75 | ||
The simplest method is to work out the volume of air you use in cubic metres, then apply the conversion 1 m³ = 0.11 kWh of electricity.
An Air Knife System removes a high percentage of the water droplets before the product enters the heated air system, which makes drying faster, more efficient and more effective.
Yes. Where airflow is only needed intermittently, compressed air can be the best solution. If your process needs just a 5-second blow-off every minute, for example, a solenoid valve can start and stop the compressed air supply.
Our team have decades of experience in providing air solutions. Get in touch and we will contact you within 24 hours to discuss your requirements and your application.
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