Compressed Air Leak Detection & Repair
Compressed air leaks can account for up to 30% of your total compressed air production if not managed correctly. In unmaintained systems, this leakage rate can climb to 50% or higher. As such, you could be wasting significant electrical energy costs on supplying air to these leaks. This direct energy waste silently increases your maintenance costs, places unnecessary wear on your compressor, and can lead to production downtime.
Let us at Design Air help you find leaks and repair them with our comprehensive leak detection & repair program. We provide professional air leak detection solutions across Scotland, including key service areas like Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, and Dundee.
Our promise is to save you enough energy costs to provide a return on investment of less than 1 Year
What's Involved With Our Leak Detection & Repair Program?
Step 1: Find The Leaks
The first step in the process is to survey your entire compressed air system with an advanced ultrasonic leak detector. This sensitive detection equipment finds the precise location of leaks by identifying the high-frequency acoustic signature they produce, a sound that is impossible to hear over the noise of a normal production facility. This will help to identify and pinpoint all leaks in your system, even in hard-to-reach areas.
Step 2: Tag & Quantify The Leaks
Once we have located the leaks, we physically tag each one with a unique ID. We then use our ultrasonic detection equipment to prioritise them in order of severity by estimating the leak rate (CFM). Large, easy-to-fix leaks will be given highest priority whilst small, hard-to-fix leaks the lowest priority. This allows you to focus on the repairs that offer the fastest energy savings.
Step 3: Report & Repair The Leaks
Carrying out a leak detection survey is pointless if the leaks are not repaired. Following the survey, you will be issued a comprehensive leak detection report. This report details every leak by tag number, precise location, photographic evidence, and its calculated annual energy cost, so providing a clear, prioritised action plan. Our team can then carry out all necessary repairs to the highest standard.
Our Advanced Leak Detection Technology
Traditional methods like listening or applying soapy water are slow, unsafe around electronics, and completely ineffective in a noisy industrial environment. Our professional leak detection service uses the latest technology to find leaks without interrupting your operations.
- Ultrasonic Leak Detectors: Our primary tools are industrial ultrasonic leak detectors. These devices are equipped with sensitive microphones that filter out audible factory noise and isolate the high-frequency sound waves from leaks. This allows us to detect and pinpoint leaks quickly and accurately.
- Acoustic Imaging Cameras: For complex systems, we also utilise advanced acoustic imaging cameras, such as the Fluke ii900 Sonic Industrial Imager. This state-of-the-art detection technology uses an array of microphones to create a visual “sound map,” allowing us to literally see the sound of every leak on a screen in real-time. This helps us locate leaks in seconds, even from a distance.
The True Cost of Unaddressed Air Leakage
Ignoring even the smallest air leakage can have a significant financial and operational impact. The true cost extends far beyond just wasted energy:
- High Energy Consumption: Your compressor has to run for longer and cycle more often to compensate for the constant pressure loss. Since energy accounts for over 70% of a compressor’s lifecycle cost, this is a massive and unnecessary expense.
- Increased Maintenance Costs: This extra runtime accelerates wear and tear on all your equipment, leading to more frequent breakdowns, higher maintenance costs, and a shorter operational lifespan for your compressor.
- Production Downtime & Quality Issues: A drop in air pressure can cause your pneumatic tools and automated systems to underperform. This can lead to production delays, inconsistent product quality, and increased scrap rates.
- Safety Hazards: High-pressure air leaks can be dangerous to personnel, while widespread system degradation increases the risk of a more significant component failure.
Expert Leak Detection for Atlas Copco & All Major Brands
Our experienced engineers are not just leak detection specialists; we are complete compressed air system auditors. We service and maintain all major compressor brands, with deep, specialist expertise in Atlas Copco systems. This allows us to not only find leaks in your air distribution network but also to diagnose air loss and inefficiencies within the compressor package itself. Whether you run an Atlas, Boge, CompAir, or any other brand, we have the know-how to optimise your entire system.
Frequently Asked Questions about Air Leak Detection
This varies, but it’s not uncommon for a seemingly well-maintained system to have a leakage rate of 10-20%. A single 3mm leak can cost over £1,000 per year in wasted electricity. Our promise is to find enough annual energy savings to deliver a full return on your investment in under 12 months.
Yes. Our ultrasonic leak detection equipment is specifically designed to work in noisy industrial environments. It filters out audible background noise and isolates the high-frequency sound of air leaks, so we don’t have to interrupt your production.
We provide our compressed air leak detection services across Scotland. Our teams are regularly in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen, and the surrounding areas. Contact us to schedule a survey.
An acoustic imaging camera is an advanced piece of detection equipment that uses dozens of microphones to “see” sound. It overlays a heat map of all sound sources onto a visual image, allowing our engineers to instantly pinpoint the exact location of multiple leaks from a safe distance.