Realization of energy saving potential by means of electric drive

Today, the specific consumption of electricity, which accounts for a unit of the gross domestic product of Ukraine, is higher than in European countries energy consumption span> Relatively recently, there has been a hope that the problem of energy conservation will cease to be a subject of discussion at various conferences, meetings and symposiums, but will move to the stage of practical implementation, and not theoretical

At most industrial facilities and public utilities, electric drives are installed on the main units and mechanisms, the main function of which is to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. Is the energy consumption correct in electrically driven installations?

Even if you do not specifically analyze this problem in depth, you can answer that it is far from always

The maximum potential for saving electrical energy, due to the long service life and mass use, is possessed by such production units and mechanisms that can work for a long time and change their performance

Such devices are used in most branches of agricultural production, at industrial facilities and at public utilities. These include:

• piston compressors;
• cooling tower fans
• fans and smoke exhausters at boiler plants;
• pumps

Most of the above units and mechanisms are equipped with asynchronous electric motors with a squirrel-cage rotor. The simplicity of design and the low price of such motors are combined with such indicators of their operation as the inability to control the speed when the motor is powered directly from the electrical network and the use of active and reactive power from it. data of asynchronous motors is a large starting current, which is several times higher than the rated current in the stator

Such an electric drive cannot change the speed of rotation of engines that are directly powered from the electrical network, and cannot affect the flow of electricity, which is converted into mechanical power and transmitted to the unit itself. That is why it is necessary to control the performance of such units and mechanisms only with the help of various devices, which impede the flow of mechanical energy and cause additional losses in its supplyMore than a decade ago, the process of developing power semiconductor technology began, which made it possible to create a new type of power transistors with the ability to switch currents of hundreds of amperes at voltages up to three kilovolts

On power transistors, leading companies specializing in electrical engineering have mastered the production and modernization of reliable frequency converters with different power ranges. For example, Schneider Electric, mastering a new generation of frequency converters, released in 2005 the fifth-generation in 2006 – ATV61 with focus on the pump and fan load Such converters allow you to change the frequency within a fairly wide range of rotation of asynchronous motors, which made it possible to regulate the operation of units and mechanisms. In view of the fact that a flow of electricity passes through them, it is saved and at the same time the service life is extended of all equipment Eliminates the need for mechanical adjustment devices This solution has become universal and reduces energy consumption in various industries