Cold Stores 35 Staying cool all year round
FOR GOODS THAT need to be held in cold storage, an influx of external air can cause trouble. Keeping the warmth out is a constant battle but one that can be conquered by using energy saving air curtains, as John Halley of Airbloc explains. Cold storage operators know only too well the hazards of keeping external doors open in order to allow people and goods to move freely in and out. Warm air and humidity drift in, compromising carefully chilled interior air, posing a health and safety hazard and potentially threatening the condition of stored goods. Whether it is fresh or frozen food, medicines, pet food, chemicals or other goods, at temperatures ranging from -3°C to -25°C, warm and humid air means big trouble.
The temperature change effected by the incoming air can cause ice to form on the floor – a potential danger for operatives working around the door area. It also has an effect on the machinery that maintains the chilled or freezing conditions – the condensers that run the cooling elements ice up. They then have to operate very inefficiently to combat the ice and keep internal temperatures constant, with a resulting increase in the amount of energy
consumed. With an energy saving air curtain – such as an Airbloc – positioned externally across the doorway, all these problems are eliminated. When a cold store door is opened, colder denser internal air spills out at low level, to be replaced with warm moist air from outside. An air curtain prevents this by delivering a ‘sheet’ of air at high velocity across the opening. This provides a barrier that effectively keeps out external air, yet retains internal temperatures. The door can be left wide open for many hours without detriment to the cold store ensuring conditions stay cool all year round. The air barrier deflects the natural convection airflow by providing air at critical velocity, volume flow and temperature.
The air jet width, velocity and pattern of the Airbloc air curtain are crucial to the unit’s energy saving capability, providing uniform linear flow across the entire door width and fan speed control for improved wind resistance.
Installation is simple – they are mounted horizontally across the doorway or vertically down one or both sides. The air curtain is controlled remotely to reduce on-site wiring.
Unlike plastic strips, an air curtain is totally invisible. Fork lift truck drivers can see exactly what lies the other side of the opening as they enter and leave. Since the equipment is tucked away above or to the side of the door, fork lifts are unlikely to damage the units inadvertently. Dust, flies and other flying insects – a particular hazard for the cold storage of food – cannot enter the building through the powerful curtain of air.
National Coldstores
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www.acr-news.com ACR News September 2014
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