ENERGY SAVING DURING OPERATION OF EQUIPMENT WITH NON-CONTROLLED ELECTRIC DRIVE IN LOCOMOTIVE DEPOT

Purpose. To conduct research of electric motors in order to obtain the results that will assess the degree of energy saving due to electric loss reduction in the equipment with non-controlled electric drive. Methodology. The paper proposes an engineering method for determination of active power losses in the motors of the equipment with non-controlled electric drive in locomotive depot during load changes on the motor shaft. It is necessary to analyse the reduction of active power losses in the motor and the power supply network when an under-loaded motor is replaced with a motor having less power. Findings. After the calculations performed by the authors, it was found that for electric motors, in case of reducing the load factor from to active loss reduction after the motor replacement for the less powerful one ranges from 0.58 kW to 2.865 kW. Also, the calculations were carried out on the example of electric motors with a lower synchronous speed, the effect of under-loaded motor replacement increases in terms of active power loss reduction. The greatest effect is achieved when the load factor is . Originality. For the first time the paper outlines the issues of energy saving efficiency for the equipment with non-controlled electric drive in locomotive depot by replacing the under-loaded motors with the less powerful ones. As long as there is a significant amount of the considered electric drives, it may cause severe losses, taking into account the peculiarities of their operation. Practical value. The obtained research results allow us to solve the problem of replacement of under-loaded motors in locomotive depot equipment with the motors having less power as efficiently as possible in terms of reducing electric losses. For instance 90-kW motor of a washing machine can be replaced with 75-kW motor when the load factor is , this can significantly reduce the performance losses. This method can be applied not only in locomotive depot but also for all equipment with non-controlled electric drives that operates in under-load mode