GEA Aerofreeze Systems Inc.

Aerofreeze to save $14,000 a year on lighting upgrade

“This initiative gave Aerofreeze the opportunity to stand behind our commitment to responsible manufacturing by significantly reducing our power consumption in both the office and factory space.”

– Paul Conradie, Vice-President of Operations, GEA Aerofreeze Systems Inc.

GEA Aerofreeze Systems Inc. is known as one of the leading freezer design and manufacturing companies in the world, especially when it comes to “individually quick frozen” (IQF) systems for the food processing industry.

As experts in refrigeration, they’re well aware of the rapid growth in demand for energy-efficient technologies – an awareness that’s already reflected in their line of efficient freezer systems.

Considering this responsible approach to energy, it was only natural when the Aerofreeze team turned their attention to the company’s own headquarters in Richmond.

The solution: a lighting upgrade

Nicole Horspool – the site’s Environment, Health and Safety Coordinator –was approached by her company’s lighting supplier to talk about Power Smart’s Industrial Lighting Initiative. After speaking with her BC Hydro Key Account Manager, Shuaul Qamar, Nicole decided to go ahead and have the supplier do an on-site walkthrough and provide her with upgrade recommendations.

Equipped with the audit findings, Nicole finally had a clear picture of the site’s best opportunities, as well as how much they could be saving through efficiency upgrades. Working with Shuaul, she selected the upgrades to tackle first; thanks to a sizeable capital incentive from Power Smart, getting quick internal approval for those upgrades was not a problem at all.

Nicole’s major concern throughout the efficiency upgrade was to ensure that the new lighting levels wouldn’t compromise safety and productivity. Working closely with her supplier and Power Smart, she discovered that new lighting technologies and intelligent lighting design can actually result in better quality illumination and less energy consumption at the same time.

The results: Better light, reduced consumption

Following the completion of the upgrades, Nicole had plenty to be enthusiastic about. 

“The increase in light quality and output, the reduction in energy consumption, and BC Hydro’s incentive all made this upgrade project a no-brainer,” she said.

Just how much energy is Aerofreeze now saving? Based on their suppliers estimates, nearly $14,000 each and every year. With the upgrade incentive, that makes for a project payback of just four years, down from 11 before the incentive. No wonder Aerofreeze is already investigating more opportunities to save energy in their other systems.

The benefits

Brilliant savings: Aerofreeze saved immediately thanks to Power Smart’s incentives – and they’ll continue to save on energy and maintenance costs for years to come.

A supercharged team: Well-designed lighting means a more comfortable, more attractive workplace–perfect for boosting Aerofreeze’s productivity.

Reliability and control: New, long-life, high-performance technologies give Aerofreeze total control over light levels and quality, and they won’t have to worry about replacement for a very long time.