Efficiency is key when it comes to reducing energy consumption but holds further benefits to often providing increase performance within your cold store.
Alongside being energy efficient an appealing metric for many businesses is improve their Carbon Footprint. Your Carbon Footprint is calculated by the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the by your organisation, or company.
Achieving a neutral Carbon Footprint may be a way off for most Cold Storage users, but there are a few simple things you can do to help.
With these points in mind, we highlight three key tops to help reduce your cold storage costs.
Lighting
Lighting is a key area often overlooked by companies, however it offers a fantastic energy saving opportunity. Lighting can count for over 10% of the total energy consumption in a cold storage plant, therefore it should be one of the first ports of call when looking to reduce energy bills.
Traditional lighting within warehousing and cold storage facilities is not requires an exorbitant amount of energy to run, but also produces a high volume of heat, not ideal within a Temperature Sensitive environment.
Switching to LED lighting is the solutions. LED’s require a lot less power to run than traditional lights, offering great savings that will quickly cover the initial investment to change.
Another advantage is that LED’s provide a much cleaner light, offering better illumination reducing the amount of dull areas, that are cloaked by shadows. A brighter workplace is also beneficial to the staff working within the cold store, offering improved working condition and noticeable affecting mood.
The heat transfer from LED lamps is miniscule when compared to the alternative. This reduced heat load can directly effective the efficiency of your refrigeration.
As if that wasn’t enough to make your switch, LED’s also offering increased reliability. Faults or failures are uncommon and they offer and excellent lifespan, reducing waste and the need to dispose of dead lamps.
These factors coupled with the energy saving benefit could have a remarkable impact on your Carbon Footprint. LED lighting offers a superior and more sustainable lighting solution.
Door Design
While access is essential, it also acts as the single component that impacts heat load on a refrigeration unit. This comes through heat infiltration, leakage and loss of chilled air to the atmosphere.
The ideal solution is to limit the number and size of access points, however in most instances this is not possible. A key feature of a refrigerated container should be its ease of use and access is a key player here.
One thing to consider when operating or working within the cold store, is the average opening time. If this can be reduced in anyway, you will notice a huge reduction in heat infiltration and as a result your cold store will run more efficiently and not need to work as hard to replace the cold air.
The type and style of door your Cold Storage solution is equipped with is also essential. When considering investing in a Cold Store you should pay close attention to the insulation values the doors offer. Having well insulated doors is essential to reducing heat infiltration when the doors are closed.
Close attention should be paid to the door seals, as this is the weakest area and where heat ingress will be most prominent. Regular inspection and maintenance policies should be in place to check for seal degradation.
Further actions can be taken to increase the retention of cold air, for instance PVC Strips or panels between segregated temperature zones are a simple and effective means of keeping the cold in.
We have highlighted just a few ways that you can reduce costs and improve energy consumption within your cold storage plant. To learn more about how to increase energy efficiency and reduce your carbon footprint take a look at our blog which offers great insight and cold storage tips.
