While most people have never heard of something called an air starter, our lives would be hugely different without them. Take for example the natural gas used to heat your hot water or fuel the burners on your kitchen stove. That natural gas travels through pipelines for hundreds or thousands of miles before it reaches our homes and businesses. After natural gas is extracted from the ground it must be treated and then compressed.
Natural gas compressors are powered by huge engines, often bigger than a school bus, which are so large only an air starter has enough horsepower to crank and start them. Without air starters cranking and starting these gas pipeline compressors, the clean, efficient and cheap energy from natural gas would never reach us. And if you’re thinking “my hot water heater and stove are electric” so that doesn’t impact me, you might think again. Your electricity was probably generated using natural gas, and, you guessed it, an air starter made it possible.