Using silicon carbide as a frequency converter has great energy-saving potential

Editor's note: In modern factory machinery and equipment, the electrical drive system consumes 60% to 70% of the electricity. The use of energy-saving drive systems can reduce energy consumption for machinery and equipment. In fact, the energy-saving potential is huge.

In the mechanical equipment of modern factories, the electrical energy consumed by the electrical transmission system accounts for 60% to 70%. As energy prices continue to rise, this proportion is still on the rise. In fact, the energy-saving potential is enormous. The use of energy-saving transmission systems can reduce more energy consumption for mechanical equipment.

Ms. Xiao Fang, manager of the inverter product management department of the Standard Drive Division of Siemens Industrial Automation and Drive Technology Group, said that the advantages of using energy-saving drive systems are obvious. They reduce energy loss, improve production efficiency and reduce environmental pollution. The energy-saving effect can be sustained throughout the entire life cycle of mechanical equipment. "The more energy-consuming the industry is, the more obvious the energy-saving effect is."

Ms. Xiao Fang said that there are many areas where energy conservation can be implemented in the operation of mechanical equipment: the operation of pumps and fans adjusts the flow rate as needed, the operation of mechanical equipment will produce some useless work, and the motor does not need to work at high speed and full load for a long time. "By using variable frequency speed regulation, a very considerable energy-saving effect can be achieved, and it has become a widely used energy-saving method."

"By using frequency converter products to adjust the speed and change the control mode of motors, fans and water pumps, energy saving can be easily achieved," said Ms. Xiao Fang. Using suitable frequency converter equipment can reduce maintenance and service costs and further improve corporate productivity. At the same time, it can also smoothly start the equipment to slow down inertial operation and extend the life cycle of the equipment.

In fact, there are many other applications of frequency converters. For example, in a textile machinery production line, the frequency converter can not only adjust the motor speed of the production line, but also control the constant temperature and humidity of the production environment. This change in the process not only improves production quality, but also reduces the occurrence of failures and objectively reduces energy waste.

Siemens inverters have been committed to helping customers save energy more effectively. For example, the SINAMICS G120 inverter has a regenerative energy feedback function that can achieve 100% energy feedback. At the same time, the application of this inverter can also save some auxiliary components such as line reactors and brake resistors , reduce the installation space of the transmission system, and reduce heat dissipation.

Ms. Xiao Fang believes that for factory energy saving, energy saving must be viewed from the perspective of the entire chain of the system. Energy saving for a piece of machinery or a production workshop is not as simple as using a frequency converter or replacing a high-efficiency motor. Energy saving needs to fully consider the feasibility of energy saving at each node so that the entire system can achieve better energy-saving effects.

People often overlook some details when it comes to energy saving. In fact, for a factory, energy saving is not just about reducing electricity consumption, but also includes staffing, wiring and factory space layout. Energy saving is a very broad concept. "From power supply and transformer equipment, to upper control system, drive system and transmission system, and then to actuators, every detail has great energy saving potential. Only when every point is coordinated well can a good overall energy saving effect be achieved." Ms. Xiao Fang introduced that the introduction of Siemens frequency converters for distributed I/O systems, such as SIMATIC ET200S FC and SINAMICS G120D, can help customers save a certain amount of manpower and material resources in space layout, installation method, wiring method and maintenance, and is a very good energy-saving application product.

肖芳女士认为，随着经济的发展，人们的节能意识已经得到了极大提高，但相比发达国家还远远不够，仍需要国家出台立法来进一步加以约定：“以变频器为例，节能的显著效果已经毋庸置疑，但市场上企业购买节能设备时决定成交与否的主要因素还是购买成本，而并非运营成本。这种观念还需要国家出台相应政策对设备的能效指标强制约定才可以改变。”

"For Siemens, innovation is our unremitting goal. We will continue to strengthen local R&D and production to fully meet the development needs of the Chinese market. For example, the SINAMICS G120 inverter innovatively uses silicon carbide as the material of the inverter. This material has strong high temperature resistance, can increase the switching frequency of the inverter, and has lower energy loss. Siemens will continue to strengthen innovation methods similar to the SINAMICS G120 inverter."

Ms. Xiao Fang believes that with the development of China's economic market, more and more companies will consider long-term development. When investing, companies will pay more attention to investments in products such as inverters and high-efficiency motors, and consider adding the entire system to the energy-saving ranks.