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Best Practice Guide |
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Food and Beverage Growers and Processors |
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RefrigerationProper MaintenanceRoutine maintenance can have a big impact on the energy use of refrigeration equipment. Check for plugged line filters and ensure that fans, motors and belts have proper air circulation. Condenser coils should have any dirt or debris removed; check also for missing or plugged nozzles. Install monitoring gauges and switches on filters and valves to alert workers when system pressure drops or some other malfunction occurs. Defrost evaporator coils Minimize Thermal Leaks Less obviously, walls and doors with insufficient insulation let heat enter conditioned areas via conduction. Look for frost on the door as a sign of conductive heat. Choose the right door for your operations. Some doors, such as hard-core doors, are very good at minimizing conductive losses because of their good insulation and tight seals, but are not well suited for high traffic areas because significant heat infiltrates refrigerated areas whenever the door is open. Other doors, such as strip curtains and high-speed folding doors, might have a low R-value (a measure of the level of insulation), but facilitate heavy forklift traffic. Other considerations will be first-cost, operational costs and the physical footprint of equipment. Work with door manufacturers and vendors to conduct an energy analysis to help determine the best options for your facility. To help block solar radiation from heating up indoor spaces during hot summer months, paint south- and west-facing outside walls with a light color. Rooftops can also be painted or else install a "cool roof" for even better protection. Invest in wall and roof insulation with high R-values, particularly for new construction. Although construction costs will be higher, operational cost savings will quickly pay this back. Well-insulated spaces may even make it possible to down-size refrigeration equipment, possibly offsetting the higher costs for installing the insulation. Improve capacity Reducing unnecessary cooling loads is another way to address a shortfall in capacity. Lighting is a good option, especially if lamps are T-12 fluorescents or high-intensity discharge. T5 fluorescent lamps, for example, reduce the amount of heat released from lighting into ambient spaces, thereby lowering cooling loads. T5s also cut energy use by as much as 50 percent compared to high-intensity discharge lamps, even at subzero temperatures. Similarly, upgrading to premium efficiency motors in refrigerated areas helps reduce cooling loads by not releasing as much heat into the environment. Resources Northwest Food Processors Association ENERGY PORTAL, online information on process efficiency for refrigeration and freezing. Industrial Refrigeration Best Practices Guide. Prepared by Cascade Energy Engineering for the Northwest Food Processors Association and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. The Industrial Refrigeration Consortium (IRC) is a collaborative effort between the University of Wisconsin Madison and industry. The goal of the IRC is to improve the safety, efficiency, and productivity of industrial refrigeration systems and technologies. A Guide to Help You Reduce the Energy Use of Your Industrial Refrigeration System. Pacific Gas and Electric Company website. Hochstein, A. Closing in on the Ideal: Door engineering that maximizes energy efficiency and handling productivity for today's cold storage facilities. Rite-Hite Corporation website. Thermal Energy Storage Strategies for Commercial HVAC Systems. Application Note, Pacific Gas and Electric. |