COMPRESSORS
Energy price hikes underline need for good practice
Kevin Glass, managing director of Bitzer UK, highlights the vital importance of correct equipment selection, system design and regular maintenance to minimise energy bills.
T
he recent sharp rise in energy costs has forced homes and businesses to focus afresh on efficiency. Not since the oil crisis in the 1970s has there been such a price shock to this most basic and important facet of the nation's economy. While homeowners have been shielded to some degree
by government support in the form of the energy 'price cap', industry and businesses have felt the full brunt. For energy intensive sectors, it is a huge additional burden on top of the rising cost of raw materials. In our own sector, the food industry has been particularly
hard hit. With the cold chain relying on mechanical cooling from field to table, the cost of operating refrigeration plant can represent a significant percentage of total production costs.
For some businesses, refrigeration accounts for the lion's
share of the energy bill. It is hard to overestimate the impact of the recent sharp rises in electricity costs for companies affected.
The effects are being most keenly felt in the frozen food
sector, due to the intensity of cooling required. Refrigeration running costs make up around 70% of a frozen food retailer's electricity consumption. For good reason, then,
22 May 2023 •
www.acr-news.com
energy efficiency is now back as a board-level issue. In terms of individual components within a refrigeration system, compressors are by far the biggest energy consumer, accounting for around 80% of total energy used, with fans and pumps accounting for the rest. It therefore makes absolute sense to pay close attention to compressor selection at the design stage, to ensure plant is built from the ground up to be as efficient as possible. Compressors operate under a wide range of conditions, and it is vital to select compressors to match as closely as possible the requirements of a specific application. Two almost identical compressors, with similar capital cost, could have energy efficiencies that differ by more than 20%, according to United National Environmental Programme (UNEP) guidance.
This significant saving can be achieved with no additional capital cost simply by selecting the best compressor for the expected operating conditions. And the savings continue to accrue over the lifetime of the system. Another determinant of efficiency is obviously the
refrigerant. The issue is complicated by the suitability, properties and performance characteristics of refrigerants at different conditions, so it is not possible to give absolute
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