When investing in equipment for your organization, you ideally want to procure machinery that strikes a balance between a reasonable up-front price and low long-term maintenance costs. This is especially true with regard to compressors. You’ll want to select a unit that’s going to last a long time and need minimal repairs.
There are a few different ways you can estimate the true life cycle cost of a compressor. Let’s take a look at one of the more popular methods to provide you with a framework for how to make an informed purchase.
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A Formulaic Approach
One of the most popular approaches individuals pursue to figure out the true life cycle cost of a compressor is to apply this formula:
True Life Cycle Cost = Purchase Price + Energy Costs + Parts & Service + Additional Factors
Let’s examine each of these components in further detail to gain a more thorough understanding:
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Purchase price
This is the stated sticker price of the compressor, and perhaps the easiest part of the formula to figure out. Keep in mind while assessing the purchase price the cost of parts & service, as the two factors are closely intertwined, a high purchase price can be offset by a strong track record of low maintenance needs and easy-to-find parts.
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Parts and service
The easiest way to begin to assess the cost of parts and service of your compressor is to assess regular maintenance expenses. You can then factor in how often you’ll be using the compressor, in what situations and how this might affect your service schedule.
Following this, research how easy it is to obtain authentic parts for replacement. Take into consideration whether you’ll be able to perform repairs in-house — sometimes, this can help save time and money, but other times can cost more in the long run without proper training and expertise.
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Energy costs
An energy efficient compressor may cost more up-front, but you stand to save money in the long-term in the form of lower utility bills. Don’t forget about this consideration while sizing up your compressor purchase.
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Additional factors
These include factors such as demand charges, load/unload cycle time, air leak losses, non-production operation, system pressure set points and individual components that can make a difference in the cost of your compressor’s operation when combined together.
Why Calculating Your Compressor’s Life Cycle Cost Is Important
If you’ve been assigned the responsibility of purchasing equipment for your organization, you’ll want to focus on products that will help maintain smooth day-to-day operation. Interruptions to the flow of work can waste time and money. Making an effort to collect all available information you can prior to a purchase is a smart way to ensure your organization is outfitted with reliable equipment that will last.
Quincy Compressor: A Name You Can Trust
Quincy Compressor manufactures industry-leading compressor solutions for a wide variety of professional environments. We build reliable products backed by strong extended warranty programs. Our new Quincy QGD and QGDV include IE3/NEMA Class 1 efficiency motors, gear drivetrains, energy efficient airends, new Airlogic 2 controllers and a special drivetrain-cooling canopy to increase operator convenience and output capacity.
Contact us today to see find a quality product that will provide your organization with years of reliable service.