Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000
What does compressed air servicing cost?
We do not publish a made-up average, because a 7.5kW piston set in a clean workshop and a 90kW screw compressor running three shifts are not the same job. Below is the cost-driver table that decides your number, plus the part most quotes get vague about: your statutory examination under PSSR is set by your written scheme, not by any fixed legal interval. Tell us about your plant and service engineers who cover your site will quote you directly.
The process
- Tell us about the plant: type, size, what you need doing. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to compressed air service engineers covering your postcode, and to no one else.
- They contact you with a price for your actual machines. Compare, choose, or walk away.
Compressed Air Servicing is a free introduction service operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd; we pass your details to compressed air service engineers covering your site, who quote you directly. We may receive a fee from providers; you pay nothing and are under no obligation. We are independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting for HSE or any equipment manufacturer, and nothing here is legal or health and safety advice: your written scheme of examination and its intervals are matters for your competent person.
What sets the price of a compressed air service, 2026
Last updated
There is no honest national average for compressed air servicing, so we do not print one. What we can set out is every factor a service engineer actually prices, why it moves the number, and the question that pins it down when you ask for a quote. Work down the list before you compare two prices, because most quote gaps come from two firms including different rows of this table.
This is a cost-driver table, not a price list. It is compiled from the way compressed air service work is scoped in the UK in 2026: the machine, the service content, the air treatment, the statutory examination and the site conditions. We deliberately publish no average price, because published averages for plant servicing are not derived from any source we could cite, and a figure you cannot check is worse than none. The statutory rows are sourced to PSSR 2000 and HSE guidance, linked below. For a real number for your plant, use the quote form.
| Cost driver | Why it moves the price | What to ask for in the quote |
|---|---|---|
| Compressor type and motor size | Consumable kits, oil volume and labour hours all scale with the machine. A screw compressor's separator and oil are a different order of cost from a small piston set. | A price per machine, listed by make, model and serial, not one lump sum for 'the compressor room'. |
| Service content, not the tier name | Tier labels such as A, B, C or 1,000/4,000/8,000 hour are provider conventions, not an industry standard. Two firms' 'B service' can differ by hundreds of pounds of parts. | The parts list: air filter, oil filter, separator, oil, belts or coupling, valve kit. Compare content, never letters. |
| Running hours and duty | Manufacturer schedules are hours-based. A machine on three shifts reaches its major service in a fraction of a calendar year, so annual pricing understates the real cost. | Your hours run, and the service that falls due at your next hours milestone, not just the next calendar visit. |
| Air treatment: dryer, filters, drains | Refrigerant and desiccant dryers, line filters and condensate drains are separate items with their own consumables and, for desiccant, a periodic desiccant change. | Whether dryer and filter elements are in the price or extra, and when the desiccant charge is next due. |
| Statutory examination under PSSR | The examination of the receiver, pipework and protective devices under your written scheme is a separate competent-person job from routine servicing, and is priced separately by most firms. | Whether a written scheme exists, who certified it, when the next examination falls due under it, and whether that visit is included. |
| Access, hours and shutdown | Out-of-hours and weekend work, permit-to-work sites, roof or basement plant rooms and confined compressor houses all add labour before a spanner is turned. | The labour rate for standard hours versus out of hours, and travel or call-out charged separately. |
| Response cover and downtime | A contract with a four-hour response, guaranteed parts stock or a standby machine costs more than a service-only visit, and is worth more the more expensive your downtime is. | Response time in writing, what is covered when it is missed, and the hourly rate for breakdowns outside the contract. |
| Condition of inherited plant | A first visit to plant with no service history often finds deferred work: contaminated oil, blocked coolers, failed drains, corroded receivers. That is a survey, then a quote. | A first-visit survey price separate from the repair quote, so you are not committed to unknown work. |
- Compressed air above 0.5 bar above atmospheric pressure is a relevant fluid, so a compressed air installation is a pressure system under the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (HSE, 2026).
- PSSR sets no single statutory examination interval: the frequency is set by the written scheme of examination drawn up or certified by a competent person, which must be in place before qualifying equipment is used.
- Routine servicing intervals come from the manufacturer, usually in running hours, and are a separate exercise from the statutory examination under the written scheme.
- Service tier names such as A, B and C are provider conventions rather than a national standard, so compare the parts list rather than the letter.
Cite this page
“What sets the price of a compressed air service, 2026”, Compressed Air Servicing, https://compressedairservicing.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). This is a cost-driver table, not a price list. It is compiled from the way compressed air service work is scoped in the UK in 2026: the machine, the service content, the air treatment, the statutory examination and the site conditions. We deliberately publish no average price, because published averages for plant servicing are not derived from any source we could cite, and a figure you cannot check is worse than none. The statutory rows are sourced to PSSR 2000 and HSE guidance, linked below. For a real number for your plant, use the quote form.
Related guides
Each one cites where its numbers come from.
- Air compressor service cost: what you are actually paying for
Why air compressor service quotes vary so widely, the eight things that set your price, and the questions that make two quotes genuinely comparable. UK, 2026.
- Air compressor service intervals: hours, calendar and the legal bit
Compressor service intervals come from the manufacturer in running hours, not from statute. Where the law does bite is the written scheme examination. UK, 2026.
- Written scheme of examination for compressed air: what PSSR requires
Your compressed air installation is a pressure system under PSSR 2000. What a written scheme of examination must cover, who can certify it, and who holds the duty.
- Air compressor service checklist: what a proper visit covers
What should be on a compressed air service report, from intake filter to condensate drains and safety valves, and the records that prove the work was actually done.
Straight answers
How much does compressed air servicing cost?
It is set by the machine, the service content and the site, and there is no published UK dataset of prices we could honestly average, so we do not print one. Motor size, minor versus major service, whether dryer and filters are included, travel and out-of-hours rates are the drivers. Get a price per machine with the parts list attached and the quotes become comparable.
Is a compressed air system covered by the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations?
Yes. HSE treats compressed air at more than 0.5 bar above atmospheric pressure as a relevant fluid, so a receiver with its pipework and protective devices is a pressure system under PSSR 2000. Some systems are excepted under Schedule 1, which your competent person can confirm for your plant.
How often does a compressed air system legally have to be examined?
There is no fixed statutory interval. PSSR requires a written scheme of examination drawn up or certified by a competent person, covering the protective devices, pressure vessels and relevant pipework, and requires the system to be examined in accordance with that scheme. Your scheme sets your frequency. Anyone quoting a legal number of years is describing a scheme, not the law.
What is the difference between servicing and a statutory examination?
Servicing is manufacturer-driven maintenance, normally on running hours: filters, oil, separator, belts, drains. The statutory examination is a competent person examining the pressure parts and protective devices under your written scheme and reporting in writing. They are separate jobs, usually separate visits, and often separate suppliers.
Are service tiers like A, B and C an industry standard?
No. Those labels, and hours-based names such as 4,000 or 8,000 hour service, are provider conventions and their contents differ between firms and between makes of machine. Compare the parts list and the labour included, not the letter on the quote.
Is this quote service really free?
Yes, free to you and with no obligation to accept any quote. We pass your details only to compressed air service engineers covering your site, who quote you directly. We may receive a fee from those providers, which is how the service is funded.