Air leak detection helps Nissan win environmental award

Combing through miles of tubing in the compressed air system in Nissan’s manufacturing facilities and repairing enough leaks to save 11,300 megawatt hours of energy last year, has helped the automotive giant to win the US Environmental Protection Agency 2014 Energy Star Partner of the Year – for the third year running.

"We saved enough energy to power more than 700 homes for a year, offset the greenhouse gas emissions of nearly 2,800 tons of landfill waste or better yet, to drive the all-electric Nissan Leaf around the earth more than 40,000 times," said John Martin, Nissan's senior vice president, Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management and Purchasing.

A common industrial challenge, the Nissan team estimated that more than 20% of compressed air used in manufacturing operations was wasted through air leaks at Nissan's US manufacturing facilities.

The team also learned how to catch a ray of sunlight to use it for lighting in a Nissan plant in Tennessee. The daylight harvesting technique - along with new skylights - allows for more optimal lighting inside the plant while using substantially less energy.