BARS AND BREWERIES
Efficient cellar conditioning saves time and money
Dougie Stoddart, commercial director at Hubbard Products, has seen the development of various solutions to the cellar-conditioning problem over the past decade, and he thinks that the best approach is a ‘common-sense’ approach.
T
he importance of maintaining a beer or wine cellar at the correct temperature is often underestimated; cask beer and table or fine wines need to be kept at regular temperatures to minimise spoilage. Maintaining a cellar in perfect condition with year-round temperature control is an age-old problem for the licensed trade with each cellar behaving differently, subject to specific and individual constraints.
With so much capital tied up in cellar stock it is important to think through the long-term financial consequences of maintaining that stock in a saleable condition. Whilst most licensees assume a cellar, either above or below ground will automatically be a cool place, nothing could be further from the truth.
When space is at a premium the siting of ancillary equipment, such as glasswashers, icemakers even boilers in out of the way cellars can create widely varying temperature ranges in a 24-hour period. And, that’s not good for wine, conditioned ales, soft drinks or other perishables. The solution though is relatively simple, Hubbard offers its heat pump system, where any waste heat produced from within the cellar, for example ice maker, cool cabinets, washing machines can be captured and converted into a viable source of hot water for either heating or washing.
An average size cellar can produce up to 3000 litres of water heated to 60°c each day. The energy cost saving and coincidental benefits associated with heat recovery at this level are considerable.
Hubbard calculates that every £1 of energy consumed by its HP Unit produces 400% the equivalent of hot water at 60°C, by lowering the running cost of a traditional boiler and hot-water system.
For the traditional cellar with cask conditioned ales Hubbard offers its ECA-accredited all year round Premium cellar conditioning system. This ensures that not only in the summer does it cool
46 December 2016
the beer to its optimum temperature, it also means in the winter if the cellar drops below the desired temperature, the Hubbard Premium system will heat the cellar to ensure the cask condition ale remains in pristine condition. To reduce running costs within the traditional cellar when the weather is colder Hubbard offers the air transfer unit, which monitors external air temperatures and introduces cooler, free air into the cellar to maintain a set temperature. Programmed to operate at ambient temperatures of below 8°c this reduces the need for cellar system to run and so cutting energy costs. The Hubbard ATU System also qualifies for ECA accreditation when installed with the Hubbard Premium Cellar Conditioning System that covers full purchase and installation costs. That’s a green solution that pays back sooner rather later. The Hubbard Air Transfer Units are easy to install; the standard mounting arrangement is on the internal side of an outside facing wall. A circular 150mm duct is installed from the unit through the wall to the outside face. A 150mm grille is fitted and sealed to the circular duct together with probes to sense ambient air temperature.
If this is not available, the Air Transfer Unit can be installed and ducted to an external wall up to
a maximum distance of 10m. Used in conjunction with the Premium Cellar Cooling system, significant energy savings can be made, compared to the use of a standalone cellar conditioning system.
In locations where temperatures are generally cooler, for example, the further north the location in the UK, the greater the savings as the energy-consuming cellar conditioning condenser does not need to operate as frequently or for as long.
The ATU also uses the Premium’s fans to distribute the cooler ambient air evenly around the cellar, again ensuring that the Premium unit runs only when absolutely necessary, and assuring the optimum cellar condition.
To confirm that the Premium condenser is always functioning correctly a timer operates the system for one hour in every 24 regardless of the external ambient temperature.
This combined and constructive approach to carbon reduction also offers additional benefits by extending the maintenance periods of the cooling equipment and providing a cooler and more efficient environment for the cellar-conditioning compressor.
Effectively, the compressor has to work less hard, for less time.
www.acr-news.com
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