Refrigeration Guide

Refrigeration systems can be one of the heaviest users of energy in a business. They are a great place to reduce energy use – and energy bills – by up to 24%.

	Use a Floating Head & Low Pressure Use of liquid pressure pumps or electronic expansion valves allows for reduction of head pressure, which enables lower condensing temperatures and can reduce electrical energy costs by up to 20%.
	Automate Fan Control Typically, propeller fans run continuously in coolers and freezers, but on average, full airflow is only required about half of the time. Inexpensive controllers are available that automatically slow these fans when full-speed operation is unnecessary.
	Maximize Equipment Efficiency Buying energy efficient equipment is a great way to maximize energy savings. If you are not ready to purchase new equipment, maintaining and operating your existing equipment at optimum levels can lead to substantial energy savings.
	Keep Your Refrigeration Cool The temperature of the refrigeration environment affects how cold you need to run your refrigerator or freezer. By reducing heat gain, you can reduce cooling needs, and therefore costs, with little up-front expense.
	Operate Your Fridge Efficiently Operating your fridge for optimum energy efficiency is one of the least expensive changes you can make. Training staff and keeping the system maintained will likely be the biggest challenges.
	Use Scroll Compressors The design of scroll compressors enables them to move refrigerant more efficiently, reducing electrical energy consumption by up to 20% over reciprocating compressors.
	Add Desuperheaters on New Installations Desuperheaters use the heat discarded by refrigeration condenser coils to heat water for other commercial uses. This process not only supplies free hot water, but makes the refrigeration equipment run more efficiently.
	Demand Control Refrigeration Demand control refrigeration uses variable capacity compressors, as well as variable frequency drives on fans, to adjust the cooling capacity of the refrigeration system to match its demand.

Last Modified: Aug 12, 2009