What’s your favorite seal of approval? Let’s face it: A lot of us feel better with verified products. Whether I have the American Dental Association® seal on my toothbrush or the Energy Star® logo on my home appliance, knowing that experts have certified my product is assuring. Compressed-air users are no different. Compressors are one of the largest energy users in a plant. You want to know whether your compressors are saving you energy and how much.
Many compressor and dryer manufacturers are voluntarily participating in a program to test and confirm their equipment performance. Why put a product through this kind of scrutiny? Because manufacturers know that being verified means trustworthiness to their customers.
The Compressed Air and Gas Institute’s (CAGI) Performance Verification Program is the standard for third-party compressor and dryer verification in the United States. To validate a manufacturer's performance claim, the CAGI-appointed third party selects a compressor or dryer at random and tests it in accordance with the published test standard. This occurs twice a year for dryers and three times per year for compressors.
The compressors are tested according to the ISO 1217 standard, which results in an efficiency ratio of power consumed (input kiloWatts) to the delivered air in cfm (free air delivered or FAD). Known as specific power, this ratio applies to 5- to 200-hp rotary screw compressors, including variable-speed and variable-displacement compressors. The test standard for dryers is ISO 7183, which verifies the pressure dew point at the manufacturer’s rated flow and pressure. All refrigerated dryers rated 200-1000 scfm are tested. In 2019, the program will expand to include dryers rated from 50-1000 scfm.
CAGI serves as the unbiased authority on all matters pertaining to compressed air. Its program makes sure that manufacturers of compressed air equipment that participate in the verification program publish accurate performance data.
There’s an old saying, “Trust, but verify.” Before third-party verification programs existed, customers could rely only on their faith to confirm air compressor performance. Sure, manufacturers provided data sheets with figures, but there was no external validation. Third-party verification helps keep everyone honest. Customers have more reason to trust verified manufacturers that meet the requirement of an audit.
Whether it’s a toothbrush, a home appliance, or a compressor for your plant, you want to know that an authoritative expert has backed it up, right? Let me know your thoughts or questions.
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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