Energy-efficient balers

Electricity costs have always been a large part of the operating cost of a baler. However, with the high electricity prices of today, it pays better than ever to get a genuinely energy-efficient baler.

Presona balers are about 30 percent more energy efficient than most other balers on the market due to the prepress technology. Add a Variable Frequency Drive to the baler and it will use even less energy.

Simply speaking, there are five costs associated with operating a baler: purchase price, staff, service, consumables, and electricity. Of these five costs, electricity costs are one of the easiest for the baler operator to influence and lower. Lower energy consumption is achieved by choosing an energy-efficient baling technology. If you want to lower your energy usage even more, you can also add a Variable Frequency Drive to your baler.

The energy-efficient Prepress technology

All Presona balers use prepress technology, while many other baler companies make so-called “shear balers.” Shear balers use a knife to cut the material that can’t fit in the press chamber. This cutting process uses up some of the pressing force. Prepress balers apply pressing force from above (by means of the prepress), thereby closing the press chamber and eliminating the need for a shear. This way, a prepress baler can be equipped with a smaller motor (that uses less energy) while still having the same capacity as a shear baler with a bigger motor.

– We calculate that a prepress baler uses about 30 percent less electricity than a shear baler while compressing the same amount of material, says Presona CEO Stefan Ekström.  

Variable Frequency Drive

In addition to the built-in energy efficiency of the prepress technology, all Presona balers can be equipped with a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD). A VFD will help optimize power use when the baler is waiting for more material to compress, which lowers energy consumption even further.

– At most recycling facilities, a baler will be actively compressing materials only about 70 percent of the time. The remaining 30 percent of the time, the motor will run idle, which uses electricity. So when the baler is waiting, you want either a very efficient idle or a complete shutdown of the baler. A VFD helps with that, says Stefan Ekström.

The technical stuff

By varying the frequency and voltage of its power supply, a VFD can control an electric motor very efficiently. A baler without a VFD will use about 30 percent of its nominal power (a baler with a 37 kW motor will use 37 × 0,3=11 kW) in idle. A baler with a VFD will use about 10 percent of its nominal power (37 × 0,1=3,7 kW) in idle. A VFD can also help with the electrical bills by shutting down and starting up the baler in an efficient and undisruptive manner, making idle power consumption 0 kW.

Energy meters

Do you want to know exactly how much energy your baler uses? Contact us at sales@presona.com and we will help you out. With an energy meter you can get information like energy usage per bale and other data straight to your touch screen.

Learn more about prepress technology balers.

Learn the true cost of operating a baler (incl. a calculator)