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The Compressed
Air Challenge® (CAC) was initiated
by Berkeley Lab (on behalf of the US DOE), Energy Center of
Wisconsin, and the American Council for an Energy Efficient
Economy in 1997 to develop and provide resources that educate
industry on the opportunities to increase net profits through
compressed air system optimization. The CAC has since grown
into a non-profit organization that includes sponsorship from
industrial users of compressed air, manufacturers and distributors
of compressed air equipment and their associations, facility
engineers and their associations, compressed air system consultants,
state research and development agencies, energy efficiency organizations,
utility companies, and the US DOE. |
Compressed
Air Challenge® Sponsors |
US Department of Energy Office of Industrial Technologies
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State of Illinois, Energy Department |
Pacific Gas & Electric |
NSTAR Electric and Gas Company |
| Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance |
Northeast Utilities Company |
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority |
National Grid USA |
| Iowa Energy Center |
Honeywell, Inc. |
Energy Center of Wisconsin |
Consortium for Energy Efficiency |
| Compressor Distributors Association |
Compressed Air and Gas Institute |
Association of Ingersoll-Rand Distributors |
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Aimee McKane chairs the CAC Project Development Committee, which
provides planning, guidance and new project development in support
of the Board of Directors' policies and objectives.
The CAC accomplishments include the development of both Fundamentals
(1-day) and Advanced Management (2-day) training workshops, publication
with US DOE of Improving Compressed Air System Performance:
A Sourcebook for Industry, publication of a 300-page technical
reference - Best Practices for Compressed Air Systems,
and identification of numerous case studies to illustrate the benefits
of taking a systems approach. In addition, the CAC has developed
Guidelines for Selecting a System Services Provider and Levels of
Analysis to provide guidance to industrial users of compressed air
who seek to optimize their compressed air systems. The CAC has also
sponsored the development of the first university-level course offering
on compressed air systems, which has resulted in a US DOE grant
to develop a textbook.
© 1998 Compressed Air Challenge |
An independent evaluation
of the CAC found that 76 percent of industrial users of
compressed air who participated in the training went back
to their plants and made changes that saved them energy
and money. More than 5000 people have received CAC training
to date. In 2004, the CAC plans to work on web-based training
materials that will allow the CAC to have a greater impact
on compressed air users. |
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