What are the reasons for the high energy consumption of the air compressor system?

The high energy consumption of the air compressor system is mainly due to equipment selection, system design, operation management, environmental factors and energy waste, etc. The specific analysis is as follows:

1. equipment selection and configuration unreasonable

1. energy-inefficient equipment: The air compressors configured in the early stage are mostly low-energy-efficient equipment, and their design, manufacturing and installation levels are limited, resulting in low operating efficiency and high energy consumption.
2. Load mismatch about 60% of air compressors are in partial load conditions for a long time, and the output power cannot be adjusted according to actual needs, resulting in energy waste. For example, when the actual gas consumption is much less than the rated displacement of the air compressor, the air compressor is still running at full load, resulting in increased energy consumption.

2. system design and operation problems

1. supply pressure not graded: The gas supply pressure is not classified, but simply uses high-pressure gas supply plus mechanical self-operated pressure reducing valve to meet different pressure requirements. This approach results in a large amount of energy wasted on the valve, because the pressure reducing valve consumes energy during the decompression process.
2. Large pressure fluctuation in order to avoid frequent start and stop of the unit, air compressor manufacturers need to set a wide range of pressure changes, resulting in large fluctuations in outlet pressure. This fluctuation not only increases the operating energy consumption of the air compressor system, but also may affect the normal operation and service life of the equipment.
3. Backward of loading and unloading control mode: Under the loading and unloading control mode, the pressure of the air compressor will continue to rise until the maximum pressure value during the loading process, resulting in power loss. At the same time, the gas above the maximum pressure needs to be reduced by the pressure reducing valve before entering the pneumatic components, which also consumes energy. During the unloading process, the air compressor makes the motor in an idling state by closing the intake valve, and at the same time, the excess compressed air in the separation tank is vented through the vent valve, resulting in energy waste.
4. Pipe network leakage and pressure loss: Problems such as aging of the pipe network and loose joints will cause the leakage rate to reach 20%-30%. Leakage not only directly wastes compressed air, but also causes the system pressure to drop. The air compressor needs to increase the output power to maintain the pressure, thereby increasing energy consumption. In addition, factors such as complex pipeline layout and high filter resistance will also increase pressure loss and further increase energy consumption.

Poor management of 3. operation

1. managed dependency: The traditional air compression station relies on manual management, especially when the air load changes frequently, the system cannot respond quickly, nor can it realize the fine adjustment of the compressor displacement. This leads to frequent no-load operation of the air compressor, and the energy consumption at no-load is as high as 40%-55% of that at full load operation.
2. Lack of centralized control: Multiple air compressors do not adopt centralized control, resulting in unreasonable parameter settings, stepped increase in exhaust pressure, and increased waste of output air energy.

4. environmental factors

1. high ambient temperature: When the ambient temperature rises, the air compressor needs to consume more energy to maintain normal operation. Therefore, poor environmental ventilation and high air compressor room temperature will increase unnecessary energy consumption.

5. energy waste

1. waste heat waste: The heat generated during the operation of the air compressor accounts for more than 90% of the input power, but the traditional system is not equipped with a waste heat recovery device, resulting in a large amount of low-grade heat energy directly discharged. This heat can be used to heat domestic water or heating, etc., to achieve energy reuse.