Ways to increase energy efficiency in cool rooms?
The three major factors influencing the energy efficiency of cool rooms are cool room design, system maintenance and equipment upgrades.
Cool room design-
A number of design elements can reduce energy use. The orientation of packing sheds, cool rooms, docking facilities, pre-coolers, offices and surrounding areas can have impact. Generally, cool rooms are best placed in the southern ends of the property with any openings facing towards the south to have minimal interferences with the sun, using shade as a consideration. Trees or other shading structures may also assist with this.
Automated doors are a good option to reduce loss of controlled air when loading and unloading. This should be considered in the design/ budgeting process. You can also hang strip curtains as a cheaper alternative to keep the controlled air inside the facility as much as possible.
A correctly built cool room will decrease costs due to being well insulated, without any air leaks. It is important to engage an experienced, professional and quality builder to ensure this occurs.
System Maintenance-
With little planning and minimal financial outlay you can increase the energy efficiency of your cool room easily with regular maintenance checks. This will ensure things are running smoothly, ensures longer service life of the equipment and ensures a lower risk of breakdowns or issues.
Important things to consider are checking door seals and insulation, ensuring temperature thermostats are correct, checking for any damage to walls, pipes or other obvious problems, cleaning of condensers and fans, checking for any undue noise or vibrations and checking all safety controls.
Consider the benefits of modern equipment upgrades as they employ newer technologies that tend to have more energy efficient motors where practical and cost effective as well.
If you need information or advice about the best cool room design and system maintenance for your facility please do not hesitate to give us a call at KB building group on ph. 1300 KB KOOL.