Omron, aware that in the current industrial environment, reducing production costs is essential to maintain the competitiveness of companies and make them viable, has been promoting drives with frequency inverters and their benefits for saving energy in industrial processes for many years. .
To quantify these benefits, an algorithm is incorporated into the 3G3MX2 and 3G3RX series drives that informs the user of the energy savings obtained, without the need to use external measurement equipment.
Save energy to reduce costs and improve competitiveness
Electric motors are the main consumers of electricity in industry, department stores, shopping centers, etc., accounting for approximately 60% of electricity consumption.
The increasingly high costs of electricity, accentuated after the recent electricity reform, have increased concern among industry associations and manufacturers about the impact of energy prices on manufacturing costs (between 10% and 45% of final cost of the product). This increase in costs may affect the loss of competitiveness or the need to reduce profit margins against foreign competitors that have lower energy costs.
Another factor that should not be forgotten is environmental sustainability. Saving energy in industry contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to sustainable development.
Frequency inverter: energy savings and quick amortization
A large part of the motors are used to drive variable torque loads, such as pumps and fans. Systems that do not use a frequency inverter to regulate the pressure or flow, have losses of between 40% and 80% of the energy consumed.
The frequency inverter allows obtaining a substantial benefit from the speed-power relationship in this type of applications. By adjusting the speed of the motor, the power consumed is reduced considerably (only by reducing the speed of the motor by 25%, the power consumed is reduced by 57%).
Constant torque loads, such as escalators, are also likely to achieve considerable energy savings. By reducing the speed by 25%, a proportional saving would be obtained, by reducing the power consumed by 25%.
These significant percentages of savings in the energy consumed mean that the investment in variable speed drives is amortized in short periods of time, which can range from several months to 1 or 2 years, depending on the type of installation and the power of the motor, since In the long term, they represent very considerable savings on the electricity bill.
3G3MX2 and 3G3RX: Real-time display of energy and cost saved.
The 3G3MX2 and 3G3RX series drives have an algorithm that allows the user to track the energy and cost saved in the installation compared to a system that does not use a frequency inverter.
To do this, no measuring equipment is required, it is only necessary to enter the price per kWh and the motor power in the drive parameters.
During operation, the drive calculates the savings achieved in kWh and the total cost of energy saved. These values can be viewed at any time in the integrated digital operator and monitor or analyze the return on investment.
In this way, Omron contributes to reducing the costs associated with industrial production, making users of our frequency inverters more competitive and at the same time more committed to preserving the environment.
