ENERGY SAVING


The unsung hero of the cold chain


When we think about energy-effi cient refrigeration, our minds usually go straight to the heavy hitters: high-tech compressors, advanced insulation, or eco-friendly refrigerants. However, Daniel Hofmann, Research & Development Director at Nidec Global Appliance, Embraco, argues that we are missing a crucial piece of the puzzle right before our eyes. While the compressor is the heart of the system, air movement determines how hard that heart has to beat.


I Daniel Hofmann


'The path to decarbon- isation does not depend on revolutionary technologies, but on


systematic optimisation of each


component.'


n the evolution of commercial refrigeration systems, compressors have long been recognised as the ‘heart’ of the system, commanding most attention and investment


in effi ciency improvements. Yet another critical component acts as the system’s ‘lungs’ – the air movement system – which has been systematically underestimated despite its profound impact on overall performance. As compressor technology has reached elevated effi ciency levels, achieving further gains requires a holistic approach to system design, with air movement emerging as a key new frontier for optimisation. The fundamental role of air movement in refrigeration is deceptively simple: to promote air circulation that enables effi cient thermal exchange in both the condenser and evaporator. However, its implications extend far beyond this, infl uencing energy consumption, product preservation, system reliability, and the carbon footprint of the entire commercial refrigeration sector. Historically, the refrigeration industry has focused primarily on the compressor, the component with the largest share in energy consumption and cost in most refrigeration systems. However, as compressor technology has advanced signifi cantly, for forced convection systems, the performance bottleneck has shifted. Operating a highly effi cient compressor with inadequate fans is analogous to fi tting a powerful engine in a vehicle with a defi cient cooling system – the full potential simply cannot be achieved. In other words, besides an effi cient ventilation system directly contributing to the appliance energy consumption, the thermodynamic performance of the compressor itself can be signifi cantly impaired by the low eff ectiveness of the heat exchangers. A system with optimised air movement can deliver up to 7% energy savings. Imagine it on a scale. The total electricity consumption of commercial refrigerators across the EU 27 countries in 2020 (the most recent period with precise data available) was estimated at 52 TWh per year. A 7% improvement in effi ciency


26 January 2026 • www.acr-news.com


– achievable through optimised air movement – would translate into savings of approximately 3.64 TWh annually. To put this into perspective, such an amount of energy is suffi cient to power more than one million households in the United Kingdom for an entire year, based on Ofgem’s reported average residential electricity use of around 3,000 kWh per household.


When it comes to the cold compartment, inadequate air distribution increases the temperature diff erence between the coldest and warmest zones, thus forcing the compressor to work more intensively in order to meet the temperature criteria defi ned by international regulatory standards. Notwithstanding, since all the evaporator fan’s energy consumption is converted into thermal load during operation, achieving high component performance is critical for minimising the application’s overall energy use. Furthermore, regarding the heat rejection from the condenser to the environment, insuffi cient airfl ow also elevates condensing temperature and pressure, thus forcing the compressor to operate under less effi cient conditions.


Technology and design work together Creating effi cient air movement in a refrigeration system comes from optimising three fundamental elements and the synergistic interaction among them: motor, blade, and shroud. Together, they form a fan pack, which is usually coupled to the heat exchanger through a housing. Each part directly infl uences the airfl ow effi ciency. The proper integration between them is what diff erentiates a premium solution from a conventional one, delivering maximum airfl ow whilst minimising energy consumption. It is worth noting that acquiring the three components


separately, even if they are optimised for effi ciency, has the additional challenge of proper assembly, given the signifi cant effi ciency losses related to mounting gaps and blade


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