The Causes of High Power Consumption in Air Compressors Identified!

Studies show that the power consumption of air compressor systems accounts for 15% to 35% of the total power consumption of gas-using enterprises.

In the total life-cycle cost of an air compressor, energy consumption costs make up about three-quarters.

Therefore, improving the energy efficiency of air compressors is particularly important for enterprises to save energy and reduce carbon emissions. 

So what exactly causes the high power consumption of air compressors?

Improper Selection of Air Compressors

Different production demands of enterprises lead to different requirements for air compressors. 

However, when purchasing air compressors, some enterprises overemphasize the one-time investment, performance indicators and energy consumption indicators of the equipment, 

while ignoring the accurate evaluation of their own gas consumption characteristics, resulting in improper equipment selection. 

For example, excessive discharge pressure and air volume that do not match actual usage lead to large margins, reduced equipment operation efficiency and huge resource waste.

High Unloading Energy Consumption

When an air compressor operates under load, it generates a large inrush current, which not only threatens the safe and 

stable operation of the power grid but also causes energy waste. When the air compressor is idling, the compressor motor still runs. For air compressors with traditional regulation methods, 

the energy consumption during idling is more than 20% of that under full load, and some air compressors can consume up to 40% of energy when idling. 

Idling energy consumption accounts for 9% to 18% of the total energy consumption, resulting in a serious waste of electric energy.

Pipeline Leakage 

Compressed air leakage is a major hidden danger in air compressor stations. 

The working environment of air compressor station equipment is complex, with heavy maintenance workload. 

If problems such as holes, aging or loose gaskets in the air compressor station pipe network are not repaired in time, compressed air leakage will worsen, increasing the energy efficiency loss of the station. 

Statistics show that the compressed air leakage of air compressor stations accounts for about 20% to 25% of the total compressed air output.

Waste Heat Loss

Statistics indicate that only 10% of the electric energy consumed by air compressors for air compression is effectively used, 

and the remaining 90% is converted into heat energy. Due to the temperature requirements of equipment operation, the oil-gas mixed steam generated by the high heat from compressed air is discharged into 

the atmosphere as waste heat through the cooling system of air compressors. Obviously, waste heat loss of air compressors is also one of the causes of high energy consumption in air compressor stations.