Refrigeration systems
How refrigeration systems work and how their energy efficiency can be improved.
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Hi I’m Frankie and in this video we’ll be looking at refrigeration systems Refrigeration is something we’re all very familiar with as we use one at home every day it can be used for many things in commercial situations and can be responsible for large amounts of energy consumption we’ll discuss some ways to
Improve the Energy Efficiency of your refrigeration system in this video So how exactly does refrigeration work the most common type of refrigeration system uses the Vaper compression cycle there’s four main parts to a vapor compression refrigerator the evaporator the compressor the condenser and expansion valve refrigerant travels through all of these parts removing heat from the items being cooled and
Expelling it in the evaporator the liquid refrigerant gets vaporized by the heat of the items being refrigerated this gas travels along to the compressor where the pressure and temperature is raised the hot gas then gives up its heat in the condenser where the heat is released to the surroundings the hot gas
Then travels back to the expansion valve and returns to cool liquid this liquid travels back to the evaporator allowing the cycle to Repeat display cabinets are a very common refrigeration system these come in a wide range of shapes and sizes and have significant variations in their energy performance changing the way these cabinets are used as well as installing Hardware upgrades can greatly improve their Energy Efficiency I’ll now explain a few ways to improve the
Operational management of your display cabinet avoid overstocking them this restricts the air flow within the cabinet causing the cooling equipment to work harder and demand more energy make sure that any lighting and anti-condensation heaters are turned off at night or when not required Ed automating some maintenance Cycles
Can lead to better energy performance check the defrost settings and anti-sweat heaters to ensure that they are set up appropriately there are several Hardware upgrades which can be installed onto the display cabinets to improve their Energy Efficiency newer models may come with these already installed but if your
Cabinet doesn’t have these features it’s possible to get them retrofitted it’s always worth installing night covers and making sure to use them when the dis blay cabinets not in use aor foils can be attached onto the refrigerator shelves to reduce the cool air loss out of the open fronted
Refrigerators other Hardware upgrades to consider are replacing old lighting with LEDs or installing cabinet doors finally when the refrigerator reaches the end of its service life the best Energy Efficiency gains can be made by replacing them with modern efficient units another very common refrigeration system is a cold room or walk-in freezer
Chiller and freezer rooms can easily gain heat through door openings and through the building fabric which is things like the walls and roof there are several ways in which you can make them as energy efficient as possible keeping doors closed as much as possible and making sure that door seals and strip
Curtains are well maintained will help keep out the heat meaning that you don’t have to continue cooling the space overcooling is a common waste of energy in refrigeration systems make sure that the temperature is set as high as is allowed for the product being stored inside the evaporators should be kept
Clean to maintain good air flow much like refrigerators Hardware upgrades can bring huge improvements to the Energy Efficiency of Chiller and freezer rooms any improvements the insulation of the walls roof and ceiling will help reduce the energy demand door upgrades such as insulated strip curtains or rapid closed doors both
Reduce the heat gain to the cold storage space fan and door interlocks can also to be installed turning off the fans when the doors are open this stops the cooled air from being expelled from the room check that your automatic defrost system is not set to defrost too Often the compressor is the most energy intensive part of any refrigeration system and reducing the load on it can help save energy consult a refrigeration technician to be sure that the condensing temperature is set to an appropriate level refrigeration systems should be checked regularly for any signs of damage or refrigerant leakage
Undercharged refrigerant levels increase the energy demands of the refrigeration system and can also be a direct source of greenhouse gas emissions if the load across the chiller varies variable speed drives can be installed to reduce energy usage they work by modulating the work the compressor does depending on the
Cooling load newer compressors with them already Incorporated can be installed condensers are where the vapor cools and returns from a gas to a liquid releasing heat there are various ways to reduce the energy demand of condensers in a refrigeration system the condenser should be regularly cleaned and checked
For damage if the current condenser struggles to meet demand at times of heavy use consider installing additional condensers alternatively if the condenser is coming to the end of its life look at upgrading to a unit with more energy efficient cooling fan motors such as brushless motor with electronic
Commutation make sure that the condenser is well ventilated and away from any other heat Source evaporators can be found in the chiller or cold room this is where the refrigerant receives heat from the items being cooled the best way to improve the Energy Efficiency here is to regularly check the evaporators and
Get the coils cleaned by a technician if there’s any significant buildup of ice this could indicate a Problem sometimes the waste heat from a refrigeration system can be recovered and used in a process which requires heating to learn more about this check out our heat recovery video and fact sheet refrigerants mainly come from a group of gases called hydrofluorocarbons or hfc’s for short these have a very
High global warming potential which is a measure of how strongly a gas contributes to global warming relative to carbon dioxide some f gases have a global warming potential 23,000 times out of carbon dioxide side there’s a series of regulations known as the fgas regulations which are
Required to comply with if there are any F gases in your business it’s your responsibility to check if you use any refrigerant in your business if you do you need to calculate how much carbon dioxide the gases are equivalent to to do this you firstly need to find out the
Quantity of fluorinated gases that you have on your site the amount of gas will often be listed on the data plate of the appliance like in this example it lists 3.0 kg of r410a refrigerant if it’s not listed on the data plate look up the model number
Online to find out this information or contact the manufacturer next you need to multiply the quantity of f gas by its global warming potential figure so for the example here the global warming potential of r410a is 288 therefore the ton CO2 equivalent of 3 Kg of r 410A is calculated as follows
So it’s the mass in tons of the F gas multiplied by the global warming potential of that F gas so 3 / 1,000 * by 288 equals 6264 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent do this for all the F gases on site if there is 5 tons or more of carbon dioxide equivalent the
Legislation applies to you there is information about exactly what’s requ required on the gov.uk site for fgas regulations if you have less than 5 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent you don’t need to comply with fgas regulations the regular servicing by a qualified professional is always advisable to ensure equipments running safely and
Optimally the table shows the massive refrigerant required to have a carbon dioxide equivalent of 5 tons for several commonly used refrigerants it may also be sensible to consider looking into what refrigerants you currently have as some can no longer be supplied you don’t want to find out
That a piece of equipment that uses a banned refrigerant can’t be repaired anymore during your busiest trading period it’s always better to plan ahead and replace old equipment before it breaks down one last thing check that your Refrigeration Service Company is registered on the refcom website www.rec.gov certification which all refrigeration
Companies must have as a minimum refcom Elite is a voluntary higher level certification scheme that promotes best practice so you if you use a refcom elite certified company then you can be assured of the highest safety efficiency and environmental standards hopefully this video has helped make you more aware of the steps
You can take to improve the Energy Efficiency of your refrigeration systems please take a look at our other videos and see what other steps you can take to improve your business’s Energy Efficiency thanks for watching