Top Tips for Refrigeration Efficiency

Resource Data Management (RDM) is proud to support World Refrigeration Day, an international awareness campaign to highlight the vital role refrigeration plays in the modern life and society. This impact is seen in maintaining the quality and safety of the food we eat, enabling life-saving medical procedures, and providing heating and cooling for comfort and safety against the elements. The campaign also seeks to educate the public. The annual event is held 26^th June each year.

This year’s campaign theme ‘Cooling Keeps Food Fresh’ is part of the overarching theme ‘Cooling Matters’. The cooling of food products is crucial to the slowing of bacteria growth, keeping foods safe and extending the lifespan of products, helping to prevent food waste.   

To promote WRD and this year’s campaign, here are some tips to improve efficiency in commercial refrigeration operation and prevent food waste while minimising environmental impact.

System visibility and alarm handling

The ability to quickly access important temperature and other data of HVAC and refrigeration (HVACR) devices can ensure timely maintenance of equipment critical to food safety. Use of the Internet of Things (IoT) is a future proof path for enabling this type of visibility. It also allows staff or store managers to be notified of temperature and systems alarms, through automated emails and text messages, or by facility monitoring call centers.

Temperature monitoring with multiple probes

Monitoring of temperatures is paramount to ensuring refrigeration efficiency, but for best results multiple probes should be utilised per refrigeration case or walk-in/coldroom. Monitoring temperatures individually at various important locations in the unit can vastly improve the accuracy and expediency of classifying and repairing equipment problems. Multiple sensors can also provide important historical data which can be used to identify trends and optimise the efficiency of units.

Defrost management

Defrost cycles are a necessary part of the refrigeration process as they prevent ice from building up in the evaporator coils which affects temperature performance. Careful management of defrosts includes initiating defrosts based on actual conditions rather than based solely on timer schedules.  This not only ensures product integrity by maintaining temperatures, but can also reduce energy usage compared.

Night and out of hours procedures

A simple yet effective way to ensure food quality while also achieving significant energy savings is utilising special procedures during non-business hours. These could include altered night temperature and pressure setpoints, or even stopping the flow of refrigerant to units with non-perishable products such as chilled beverages.

Night blinds deployed over open-air cases can extend the shelf life of fresh produce by trapping in cold air and protecting the foods from heat, dry air and UV radiation. The blinds and other night procedures lower the electrical demand of refrigeration cases and pack/racks.

Product probes

Rather than measuring air or coil temperatures, product simulation probes provide readings resembling the actual internal temperature of food products. Adding a product probe along with regular case sensors prevents overcooling of products, maintaining food safety and quality. By only enabling refrigeration when truly needed, energy used is simultaneously reduced.

These are just a few of the most effective refrigeration strategies for maintaining or improving food safety and quality. As another World Refrigeration Day draws to a close, we encourage you to reflect on the myriad of ways refrigeration positively impacts your life, through food safety and beyond.

RDM is proud to be a partner in the effort to raise the profile of this vastly critical industry. In doing so we believe society will benefit from the appreciation and advancement of technologies that keep us safe and healthy, with an increasing focus on environmental impact.

Find out more about World Refrigeration Day and this year’s theme, here.