R-22 Phase out January 1st, 2010

January 1st is just around the corner. Now is the time to start preparing for the R-22 refrigeration phase out. Starting in 2010, manufacturers can only produce R-22 refrigerant to service existing equipment. All newly manufactured units will use an alternate refrigerant.

U.S. Department of Energy to Strengthen Efficiency Standards

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced three new steps to strengthen its ability to enforce energy efficiency standards. DOE has formed a new enforcement team within the Office of the General Counsel; established a program to randomly review manufacturers’ compliance with DOE certification requirements; and is publishing guidance that provides further details about DOE’s energy efficiency enforcement regulations.

In its new guidance, DOE confirms that under existing regulations, it can take enforcement action and assess civil penalties if a manufacturer fails to properly certify a covered product and retain records. Specifically, the agency clarifies that any failure to certify covered products according to DOE’s rules violates the Energy Policy Conservation Act of 1975 and DOE regulations. DOE will randomly select previously filed certification reports for review, request certification records as needed, and hold manufacturers accountable for failing to certify covered products according to DOE rules. Read the rest of this entry »

Operating Cost for Walk-in Coolers and Freezers

Before purchasing your walk-in, you may be wondering how much it will cost to operate your walk-in.

To give you a rough estimate of how much it cost to operate a walk-in cooler or freezer, using the national average of 11.89 cents per kilowatt, look at the chart below.

*These numbers were figured using the $.0999 kilowatt hour cost. According to the Energy Information Administration this is the average cost in the United States for commercial electricity.

This chart was created using several assumptions that can affect your actual operating cost.

1. The type of insulation in the walk-in.
2. Efficiency of the refrigeration system.
3. Inside and outside temperature of walk-in.
4. Where the walk-in is located.
5. The temperature and the weight of the product entering the walk-in.
6. How often the door is opened.
7. The age of the walk-in.
8. Cost of electricity.

This is just to name a few.  If you would like to be more accurate using your electric rate, follow the instructions below. Read the rest of this entry »

EC Motor Start-up

Interesting information about EC motors that could lead to an incorrect diagnosis.

As of January 1, 2009, all walk-in manufacturing companies must sell their refrigeration units with Electronically Commutated (EC) motors. EC motors lower energy costs and significantly improve the walk-in cooler or freezer performance. These energy efficient motors are offered as a complete unit or as a drop-in replacement. Whichever your use is, if you are not familiar with the EC motor it may seem odd when you initially start it up.
When starting an EC motor, the motor must know where the rotor is located in order to start and continue to run. When power is first applied to the motor, the controller will apply a gradually increasing amount of current to all three windings in the motor over a period of 2 seconds. This will cause the rotor to move to a known location. This move will range from no movement at all if the rotor has stopped in the location needed for the next start or may be a much larger movement if it was a longer distance  from where it needed to be. With a fan blade attached, it may even overshoot and move backwards to get to the right location. After that 2 second “positioning” period the controller will start applying power to different phases in a slow rotating pattern that increases in speed over the next 2 seconds until the rotor is moving fast enough for the controller to be able to detect its location. This second phase of the start cycle usually happens so quickly that you cannot really see what is happening. Within 3 to 5 seconds of applying power, the motor should appear to be running normally, but during those first 2 seconds the movements may seem as though the unit is having troubles starting or is broken.

Own a restaurant? Tips to save time, energy, and money.

1. Make Your Menu More Efficient.

Are your menu items being prepped and cooked as efficiently as possible? Items that need to be thawed for daily food service can be defrosted in a refrigerator overnight instead of under running water reducing energy usage and conserving water. Review your menu to see if there are common ingredients or items that can all come from one source. Minimizing the number of individual deliveries you receive weekly will add to your conservation practices and reduce your delivery expenses as well as receiving time when you can be going in and out of cold storage using additional energy to bring it back to safe temperatures.

2. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs.

Subway recently switched all their light bulbs to energy efficient bulbs in all of their 2000 US franchise locations. Switching to an energy efficient light bulb can save up to $22 per bulb per year. This can add up to quite a savings over time. Also keep lights off when you don’t need them. If you don’t start serving lunch until 11 o’clock there is no reason to turn the dining room lights on until then.

Areas such as walk-in coolers or your dry store room don’t need to be illuminated all day long. Turning off lights as you leave typically unused areas is a great way to save money on your energy bill. Electrical timers can be used in these areas especially if they are commonly forgotten and left on overnight.

Higher efficiency bulbs can be used in areas that require constant lighting. Replace incandescent lights in your walk in cooler with fluorescent lights which are cooler and consume less energy. Replacing bulbs with higher efficient options will show a lower cost in your monthly bill.

3. Pre-cut and freeze many of the common vegetables you use in your restaurant or cafe.

Onions: Buy in bulk and on sale. Peel and slice or dice. Freeze one layer thick on a cookie sheet. When frozen transfer to plastic jars with screw on lids. Immediately put back in the freezer. Don’t forget to label the jars! When you need some onions in a cooked dish just shake out what you need. If they clump together shake really hard to loosen. Some of the ways we use frozen onions: sautéed or grilled on hamburgers, in omelets, in any dish that the customer asks for “extra onions” that will be cooked or at least heated. Bell peppers, Mushrooms

4. Train your staff.

Teach your staff to sort recyclables, turn off lights, and let you know if there is a leaky faucet in the wait station. Ask them to bring in their own take-home containers instead of using the restaurant take-outs.

Busy kitchen staff may often forget to do the simplest of energy efficient steps. Leaving oven doors open releases vast amounts of heat. Each time you open an oven door the temperature can drop by as much as 25o F.; watch the clock and use a timer instead. Don’t leave the convection oven or steamer door open too long or it will just continue to release heat, burning unnecessary energy to retain the proper cooking temperature.

The walk-in cooler is another door that needs to be shut at all times or cooling becomes a continuous energy pit. If doors such as the walk-in cooler are consistently left open, place spring hinges on the doors and it will automatically close, eliminating the opportunity for staff to forget to shut the door.

Read the rest of this entry »

Plan Now for Upcoming Changes in Refrigerants

Be aware that prices of R-22 refrigeration may increase while supplies will likely wane. After January 1, 2010, original equipment manufacturers will no longer be able to sell equipment using R-22. The phase out of R-22 will be a lengthy process and market conditions may not be as greatly affected by the volatility that resulted in refrigerant price hikes characterized by the phase out of R-12.

Existing equipment using R-22 can continue to be serviced with R-22. However, chemical manufactures will no longer be able to produce R-22 after January 1, 2020. After 2020 the servicing of existing equipment will rely exclusively on re-claimed and recycled supplies of R-22.

If your equipment is more than ten years old, you may save significantly on your cooling energy cost by replacing it with a new more efficient model using R-404a or Scroll compressor technology.

Energy efficiency, system performance, hourly run time of equipment, reliability, and actual cost to operate (amp draw, run time, etc.) should be considered when deciding to purchase new equipment.

To help speed the transition away from ozone depleting refrigerants, choose a system that uses ozone friendly refrigerants.

Meeting 2009 EISA Walk-in Cooler & Freezer Standards

The federal government’s EISA (Energy Independence & Security Act) standards went into effect Jan. 1st, 2009. This act was intended to improve energy efficiency within the refrigeration industry as well as many other industries. AHRI reports there have been some concerns since there are no enforcement mechanism or standard testing methods built into the act; non-compliant walk-in manufacturers will stand to benefit. These manufacturers will be able to beat compliant competitors on price (due to the lower input costs of their non-regulation walk-ins). Be sure that when buying a walk-in, you check to make sure they are EISA compliant.

The AHRI (Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute) is trying to raise awareness about what this act mandates among distributors, installers, and consumers. They have created a checklist of the standards walk-in coolers & freezers are required to meet that can be found at ACHR The News. Use this checklist to ensure the walk-in unit you are about to purchase meets the EISA standards. Read the rest of this entry »

An energy saving experiment for your grocery store.

A research study at Kettering University in Michigan investigated how to make an open refrigerated display case (like those found in grocery stores) operate more efficiently.  The study concluded that raising the temperature setting while lowering the air velocity from the refrigeration would not only provide energy savings, but the food was actually kept cooler.

Lower infiltration [of warm air] means the air is coming out at a lower velocity, said Navaz. “Previously, air came out of the upper vent (or grille) of a specific display case at 90 feet per minute. We calculated the optimal speed as 65 feet per minute as an optimal discharge air velocity to yield lower infiltration rate,” he said.

By reducing the velocity by 30 percent, infiltration was reduced by 12 percent and the power required was reduced by 13 percent.

Increasing the temperature at the discharge air grille by about 1 degree (F) and lowering the velocity of air resulted in lower suction pressure at the compressor inlet which reduced the compressor usage and therefore less energy consumption.

Infiltration represents 83 percent of the cooling load and is the biggest draw on energy of refrigerated display cases. Less energy use translates into real cost savings to the tune of about $13 million for the state of California alone, according to Navaz.

In addition to energy savings, lowering the pressure on the compressor also extends the life of the compressor and creates more cost savings over the long term.

Click here to read the entire Kettering refrigeration study.

Energy Efficient Copeland Scroll Compressors for Walk-ins

Save valuable resources with energy efficient Copeland Scroll compressors, permanent split capacitor motors and electronically commutated evaporator motors on your next refrigeration system purchase. Scroll condensing units are available for medium and low temperature refrigeration applications. The condensing units are optimized to work with HFC refrigerant R-404A, a reliable alternative to HCFC R-22. As the energy efficiency trend increases, the use of scroll compressors is a more important feature than ever before. Scroll compressors are inherently more reliable because they have significantly fewer moving parts and handle liquid slugs and debris more effectively. The scroll technology has only three moving parts, as compared to the standard hermetic compressors that have 150 plus moving parts. Scroll is effective in using less energy or amp draws verses the standard hermetic compressor. Copeland studies indicate that up to a 15% reduction in energy use is experienced for most applications. When adding the benefit of PSC motors on condensers and EC motors for evaporators, energy use will decrease. Sizing refrigeration equipment to operate for 14 to 16 hours instead of the traditional 16 to 18 hour run time will also save energy by using less kilowatts and costing less to operate compressors and motors.

Copeland Scroll Refrigeration Compressor

Read the rest of this entry »

Walk-in Cooler & Freezer Shopping Tips

Be aware when shopping for walk-ins online that you are comparing the same size box and refrigeration. Some companies are offering smaller sized refrigeration packages, which make it look cheaper upfront but may not provide you the results you are looking for.

Some systems, whether they are coolers or freezers, are designed only to hold the temperature of the product coming in and are not designed to pull-down the temperature of the product to the desired holding temperature. Pull-down happens when there is product entering the cooler or freezer that is warmer than the desired temperature and needs to cool in a short amount of time. For example, when a restaurant owner has a large pot of soup that needs to be cooled quickly to avoid bacteria growth, the refrigeration must be able to cool the soup to the desired temperature in a reasonable and safe time while maintaining the holding temperature in the cooler/freezer. Systems designed for holding only and not to pull down the temperature of the product coming in will only work properly if products entering the box are already at the desired temperature, either cold or already frozen.

The industry standard design temperature for freezers is at -10° F. Some online companies are selling their freezer refrigeration at a holding temperature of 0° F. If you try to run a walk-in designed for 0° F holding temperature and set the thermostat to -10° F, it will run constantly trying to meet the -10° F temperature it was not designed to hold. This will shorten the life of the compressor and may cause the coil to freeze and consequently warm up the box to melting temperature, damaging the food stored inside.

Before purchasing, you must understand the difference and what implications it could have on your business. Most perishable items that are stored in a freezer are not frozen to start with and will need to freeze and stay frozen for a period of time. If the box is designed for holding temperature only and is set at 0° F, the refrigeration will work harder and longer to pull the temperature inside the box back down to 0° F once warm food is stored in the freezer. Frozen products, such as ice cream, hold up better at -10° F rather than 0° F. When a freezer goes into defrost it can raise the box temperature by 10-15°. If your box is set at 0° F, a 10-15° temperature swing can cause some products to be damaged or melted. When dealing with food it is imperative to make sure the holding temperature in the freezer is low enough to keep products frozen, protecting from bacteria or other hazards that spread through food not refrigerated correctly. (Check with your local health codes for the required holding temperature of your walk-in cooler and freezer.) It is also important to note that when refrigeration is working longer and harder, your energy costs will increase as well as the chances of your refrigeration breaking down or having inefficiencies.

Every state has requirements for storing cold food; here is an example of Illinois’s Administrative Code.