For businesses that rely on constant operation of commercial refrigeration units, it’s important to find ways to make those units run more efficiently so energy expenses do not get out of control.
Over time, an inefficient refrigeration unit will waste massive amounts of energy, driving up prices. This is why it’s important to analyze the possible factors that are influencing your excessive commercial refrigeration cost and reduce the amount of energy you’re expending on it.
Here’s a quick overview of some of the potential strategies you could employ:
- Clean parts: The most important components of your refrigeration system to keep clean are the evaporator and condenser coils. When debris builds up on these parts, you will see a big drop in efficiency. Anyone can clean these coils—you don’t have to call in a professional to get this job done. Make it a part of your regular maintenance routine and it will make a big difference in keeping the system as efficient as possible.
- Check the seals: Keep the door seals on all refrigerated units and coolers in good condition. Over time these seals may begin to warp or degrade, which will result in air leaks and a loss of overall efficiency, driving up your commercial refrigeration costs. Repair or replace the seals as necessary to avoid unwanted side effects.
- Load cold deliveries immediately: It takes more energy to cool items that have reached room temperature than it does to cool items that are already cold upon delivery. Any time you receive a delivery of cold items, make it a point to load them immediately, both to protect the quality of those items and to preserve energy as much as possible.
- Improve defrost controls: The defrost cycle is one opportunity for inefficiency to form in the refrigeration system. Avoid using simple timer clocks for defrosting, and instead use advanced controls with environmental sensors to determine how much frost and humidity have built up before making any temperature adjustments.
- Install new lighting: Old-fashioned lighting fixtures can draw a lot of unnecessary energy from the system. You can replace them instead with more efficient fluorescent lamps or LED bulbs, which will cut down on the load for the compressor and reduce the amount of energy needed to keep the system operational.
- Upgrade older systems when possible: If you have refrigerated displays that are accessible to the public, you can make some upgrades and retrofits to those units for greater energy efficiency. For example, you can add on doors to help keep the cold air contained rather than allowing it to spill out into the open area, which wastes a lot of energy. Sure, there will still be some energy loss when customers open up the doors to remove items, but it’s better than leaving those displays open at all times and losing cold air as a result.
Want to learn more about how you can reduce your commercial refrigeration costs? Contact the team at Commercial Equipment Service Inc. to learn more about the steps you can take.