a technical procedure for assessment of energy saving by means of Variable Speed Drive in compressed air facilities. Contribution to evaluation and monitoring for the Italian energy saving decrees.

The proposed EU Directive on energy services finds in Italy a first-for-the-country application through the Decrees on energy efficiency, recently revised in July 2004. In this second edition the scheduling has also been updated, aiming to achieve a 5.8 Mtoe saving on primary energy by 2009 (electricity and natural gas). Although, energy intensive industries and the energy sector, subjected to other Directives, are excluded, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as the civil sector form an interesting target of the new Directive. For the implementation of these obligations in the Italian legislation, various technical procedures have already been approved since 2001 by the Regulatory Authority for electricity and gas. But several others are on their way to be studied, discussed, submitted and eventually accepted. These procedures state how to evaluate and monitor the outcomes of the measures and actions on energy efficiency. In this paper the authors describe a methodology and subsequent procedure to assess savings in compressed air systems with variable speed drives motors. Possibilities and restrictions regarding evaluation and monitoring will be discussed.