Spain. The Association of Refrigeration Companies and their Technologies – AEFYT, unveiled some solutions to mitigate the impact of the electricity cost in refrigeration facilities that has escalated in recent months and that has been aggravated by the conflict in Ukraine. This scenario has led to an increase in the operating costs of refrigeration facilities of 220 percent.
AEFYT explained that the increase in cold production for the logistics, agri-food, pharmaceutical and horeca sectors is leading to a loss of competitiveness and an increase in cost that will be reflected in the service and product to the final consumer. This forces the cold industry to provide effective solutions to its customers and accompany them in this scenario, where the production of essential cold within the value chain is becoming an uncontrollable cost.
According to data from AEFYT, a supermarket of 1,500 square meters has an average unpaid consumption of 1,000 MWh / year, while the consumption of the refrigeration plant depends on the technology used and can vary between 39 and 60 percent of the total store.
In general, it is estimated that 15% of the world's electricity is destined to the preservation of food, and this without taking into account many other products that also need a controlled temperature for their correct conservation (vaccines, thermolabile drugs, plasma, flowers, data processing centers and a long etcetera). Only in Europe, the electricity consumption of cold rooms is around 30TW / Year, with a demographic pressure also on the rise and that demands more and more refrigeration facilities that ensure the correct conservation of numerous products.
Cooling 4.0
To mitigate as much as possible the impact of this situation on the cold sectors, AEFYT works on projects, such as REFRIGENIA 4.0, for the digitalization of the sector and the use of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, which allow the reduction of energy consumption and self-diagnosis of refrigeration facilities.
Through this project, the refrigeration sector makes available to companies a series of technical advances that help to better control energy expenditure. "The sector can do little against electricity tariffs, but there is a battery of proven solutions in thousands of facilities that allow us to greatly mitigate these increases thanks to the advance of new technologies, monitoring and effective preventive maintenance," said José Luis Bescós, vice president and CEO of AKO Group.
The so-called Industry 4.0 is already a reality that has proven its great effectiveness in terms of operating and operational savings. More than 70 percent of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a cold room is due to its electricity consumption and, therefore, it is vital to have systems that alert and report bad practices, while being able to regulate the temperature and adapt intelligently to the use and needs that the chambers and other refrigeration services have at all times. There are temperature regulation techniques that allow reducing electricity consumption by up to 35 percent while maintaining the existing installation and without interrupting the activity.
"Nor should we forget that the 'blood' of any refrigeration system is the refrigerant gas and, therefore, its load level must always be optimal, since it is directly related to the electrical consumption of the installation and its operating life," says Nacho Bauxauli, technical manager of Eliwell. In this aspect, an installation with an annual leakage ratio of 20 percent will be consuming 15 percent more energy, in addition to the operating cost it entails for the installation and its impact on the components of the same, which must work harder to meet the cooling needs of the installation. Today it is possible to have monitoring and premature detection solutions that reduce refrigerant gas leaks by up to 90 percent.
"The companies associated with AEFYT are world leaders in the refrigeration sector, with a professional network of installers, maintainers, distributors and manufacturers willing to help the sector to be more competitive, more efficient and sustainable so that the user sectors are more competitive economically and environmentally," said Susana Rodríguez, president of AEFYT.
