Lago Cold Stores in Queensland engaged the services of Allfrige Solutions to help curb escalating power costs brought on by inefficient, aging refrigeration equipment and rising energy prices.
The company was also at risk of peak power demand tariffs from its energy supplier.
Existing equipment on one of the less efficient plants consisted of six refrigeration systems with 12 x 30hp Copeland tandem compressors running direct expansion freezers to six forced draft evaporator systems.
In a bid to reduce power usage and operating costs, Allfrige Solutions was engaged to customise an equipment and software solution.
Allfrige Solutions owner and director, David Wilson worked with Heatcraft Australia to improve the efficiency of the plant, taking into account cost and equipment payback.
Wilson arranged meetings on site with field sales engineers from Heatcraft so he could explain how he wanted to run and maintain the extensive refrigeration plant to maximise energy savings.
The site had many different operating systems but the selection was made in favour of Danfoss Electronic Expansion Valves as the particular plant being reviewed had existing Danfoss control equipment installed.
In response, 12 Danfoss ETS 25 Valves with ETS Controller Kits were installed across the site.
Removal of the mechanical valves & fitting of Electronic Danfoss ETX Danfoss electronic TX valve ETS 50 1 1/8 ODS with associated controls valves. With the monitoring and recording equipment fitted to the systems by Allfrige Solutions, a third party was engaged to verify the results of the energy savings.
“We measured the energy reduction on two identical systems with two different energy meters. Both systems and both meters recorded the same results,” Wilson said.
“Each of the twin 30hp low temperature systems recorded an average power consumption of 45kW with the mechanical TX valves.
“After installing the Danfoss electronic TX valves each system recorded an average power consumption of 30kW, resulting in an average saving of 15kW per system.”
A provider of energy efficient refrigeration solutions, Allfrige Solutions was established in 2009. The company offers sales,installation, service and maintenance to a large customer base ranging from small commercial systems to large scale industrial refrigeration plants.
The company also specialises in air conditioning solutions for all applications.
A payback analysis was also prepared by Allfrige Solutions to demonstrate the benefits of the investment to the client. The analysis used an average run time of 16hr per day for 365 days at $0.10 per kw hour.
Original mechanical TX valves fitted;
5840hrs x 45kW = 262,800 kWh x $0.10 per kWh = $26,280p.a.
Electronic TX valves fitted;
5840hrs x 30kW = 175,200 kWh x $0.10 per kWh = $17,520p.a.
Savings; The total savings per annum, equated to $8,760. The approximate cost for the upgrade was $3,500 equating to a payback period of just five months.