The electricity to an air compressor motor ends up as heat distributed as follows:
From the motor (about 5% to 10% of the electricity in).
From the compressor itself.
From the hot compressed air.
The total heat from all of those is equal to the amount of electricity in. One kilowatt-hour of electricity equals 3412 BTU's, so an air compressor drawing 1.00 kW will make 3412 BTU/hr total heat. If the compressor is located in the heated space, then the end result is exactly the same as an electric heater that draws the same amount of electric power.
The only way to get more BTU's out than electricity in is to use the electricity to drive a heat pump. Then the BTU's out is equal to the electricity in plus the amount of heat pumped from the cold side to the hot side.
|