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Cold store energy usage and optimization

Conference Paper · August 2011

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 ICR 2011, August 21 - 26 - Prague, Czech Republic

ID: 846

COLD STORE ENERGY USAGE AND OPTIMISATION

EVANS, J.A.1; HUET, J-M.2; REINHOLDT, L.2; FIKIIN, K.3; ZILIO, C.4; HOUSKA, M.5;
BOND, C.6; SCHEURS, M.7; AND VAN SAMBEEK, T.W.M.8
1
Faculty of Engineering, Science and the Built Environment,
London South Bank University, Langford, Bristol, BS40 5DU, UK.
Email: j.a.evans@lsbu.ac.uk
2
Danish Teknologisk Institut, Denmark
3
Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria
4
University of Padova - Dept. Fisica Tecnica, Italy
5
Food Research Institute Prague, Czech Republic
6
Carbon Data Resources Ltd, UK
7
Catholic University College Limburg, Belgium
8
Cold Chain Experts, Netherlands

ABSTRACT

Data on the performance (energy, temperature of the store and annual product throughout) of refrigerated
cold stores was collected using a web based survey. The preliminary data collected was compared to data
collected in New Zealand and data presented by the IIR. The energy efficiency of the cold stores examined
was found to vary widely and this could not be attributed to either temperature of the store or product
throughput. Work to collect more data is ongoing as part of the ICE-E (Improving Cold storage in Europe)
project and this will compare a greater number of variables such as location of the store, door openings, door
protection, refrigerant type, leakage of refrigerant, refrigeration system components and structure of the cold
store.

1. INTRODUCTION

The cold chain is believed to be responsible for approximately 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions
through direct and indirect (energy consumption) effects. Studies have shown that leakage of refrigerants
may be higher than 17% in industrial plant (Clodic and Palandre 2004). Refrigeration energy consumed in
the food chain has not been accurately quantified due to a lack of measured energy consumption and process
throughput data in most sectors (Swain, 2006). Overall figures would indicate that excluding domestic
refrigeration approximately 50% of the energy is associated with retail and commercial refrigeration and
50% with chilling, freezing and storage (Market Transformation Programme).

Cold storage rooms consume considerable amounts of energy. Within cold storage facilities 60-70% of the
electrical energy used is for refrigeration. Therefore cold store users have considerable incentive to reduce
energy consumption. In Europe there are 60-70 million cubic meters of cold storage for food. In 2002 the IIR
estimated that cold stores used between 30 and 50 kWh/m3/year (Duiven and Binard, 2002). Previous surveys
carried out on a small number of cold stores have shown that energy consumption can dramatically exceed
this figure, often by at least double (Evans and Gigiel, 2007, 2010). These surveys also demonstrated that
energy savings of 30-40% were achievable by optimising usage of the stores, repairing current equipment
and by retrofitting of energy efficient equipment. However, cold store operators are often reluctant to install
new equipment without sufficient information on savings that could be achieved.

There are few published surveys comparing the performance of more than a few cold stores. The most
comprehensive recent survey was carried out in New Zealand by Werner et al (2006) which compared
performance of 34 cold stores. This demonstrated that there was a large variation in energy consumed by
cold stores and that savings of between 15 and 26% could be achieved by applying best practice
technologies.
 ICR 2011, August 21 - 26 - Prague, Czech Republic

The performance of European cold stores has never been compared in detail and there is little information to
compare their performance with other stores Worldwide. With Government targets to reduce energy and
reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses the need to benchmark and understand potential energy and GHG
reductions is of great interested to end users. To enable end users to improve the performance of their cold
stores a project called ‘Improving Cold storage Equipment in Europe’ (ICE-E) was developed with 8
partners from across Europe. The initial aim of the project was to collect data to benchmark the performance
of cold stores in Europe. In addition the project will also work to overcome reservations to the uptake of new
technologies within the cold storage sector. This will be achieved through a combination of knowledge based
information packages, mathematical models and education programmes to enable cold store operators to
make informed decisions on equipment and to select and identify cost efficient paybacks to their businesses.
In additional non technical barriers preventing uptake of new technologies will also be examined. Proven
technologies are often not taken up due to wider social, political, economic and organisational contextual
issues. To overcome these issues the ICE-E project will also work to create change and awareness of the
issues and a sense of agency that can initiate relevant change.

As part of the ICE-E project an internet based survey was developed and data collected to determine energy
usage in different cold store types, sizes and configurations. Preliminary results from the survey are
presented in this paper and compared to data from previous surveys. Further data will be collected over the
next 14 months and ultimately the analysis of the results will lead to a benchmark/labelling system for cold
store operators so that they can compare performance against others users within the sector.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1. Development of survey tool.

The survey was developed using a NET web application. Development was carried out in Microsoft Visual
Studio using c# (c sharp) which used .NET Framework 4.0. The data was saved in a Microsoft SQL
database.

The survey was initially tested on a selected number of cold store operators to ensure the questions were
appropriate and relevant. Improvements were then made based on their comments. A picture of the final
survey entry page is shown in Figure 1.

The survey allowed participants to initially register their details and then to enter data on as many
refrigeration systems as they wished. It was set up to collect information per single refrigeration system that
might supply one of several cold stores. The survey was designed to be simple to complete with the aim that
is should take a cold store operator less than 20 minutes to complete the survey. The final survey document
consisted of 5 pages collecting basic information, information on the refrigeration system, the food stored,
the facility and the refrigeration equipment at the facility.

During the initial registration process cold store operators could ensure that data was anonymous (all data
supplied irrespective of this was confidential) and could also register to participate in a detailed energy audit
of their facilities. The detailed audits will be selected to cover different locations, sizes and use of cold stores
and cold store types and will be used in later studies, verification of the mathematical models and in the case
studies to show where improvements can be achieved.
 ICR 2011, August 21 - 26 - Prague, Czech Republic

Figure 1. Survey entry page.

2.2. Data collected.

The survey data collected is shown in Table 1. In all cases the users were asked to rate the accuracy of the
data they submitted. The collected data was retained on a server where users could return to update
information or add further data.

2.3. Benchmark analysis.

Once users had input data they could then compare the performance of their store through an automatic
benchmark analysis. This enabled them to compare the energy used by their cold store system with systems
of a similar size and product throughput (Figure 2). In addition users could compare the set point
temperatures, food type and room function and refrigerant type with others in the survey. In all comparisons
the user had the ability to define the range over which comparisons were carried out.

Cold store 3

Figure 2. Information from benchmark for energy consumption.

 ICR 2011, August 21 - 26 - Prague, Czech Republic

Survey page heading Units

Basic information:
Total electricity usage for the system in 2009? kWh
Does the electricity energy figure of the system submitted include?
1. Compressor Yes/No/Don’t know
2. Lights Yes/No/Don’t know
3. Fans Yes/No/Don’t know
4. Pumps Yes/No/Don’t know
5. Fork/lift charging Yes/No/Don’t know
6. Blast freezing Yes/No/Don’t know
7. Floor heating Yes/No/Don’t know
If figure supplied includes blast freezing what is energy use kWh
EXCLUDING blast freezing?
What is the total volume of the room(s) supplied by the system? m3
What was the throughput in 2009? Ton
What is the main function of the room(s)? Chilled/frozen/mixed storage/blast freezing/loading
What is stored in the room(s)? Mixed foods/Meat/Fish/Fruit/Vegetables/Dairy/Cereal products
What is the chilled set point temperature of room(s)? °C
What is the frozen set point temperature of room(s)? °C
Do you plans to invest in energy saving equipment? Yes/No/Don’t know
Refrigeration system:
Primary refrigerant Don't know/R22/CO2/Ammonia/Other
Refrigerant quantity/charge kg
Amount of refrigerant added to primary system in 2009 kg
Secondary refrigerant Don't know/R22/CO2/Ammonia/Other
Refrigerant quantity/charge kg
Amount of refrigerant added to primary system in 2009 kg
Food stored:
Average intake temperature for chilled products °C
Average intake temperature for frozen products °C (for mixed system fill both)
Does the room have controlled atmosphere? Yes/No/Don’t know
Does the room have humidity control? Yes/No/Don’t know
How is the food stored in the area? Don't know/Pallets/Bins/Dolavs or containers/Placed on shelves
How much food can be stored in the storage area Kg
How many pallets/containers can be stored in the storage area Number
What is the number of pallets/containers INTAKE in 2009 Number
What is the number of pallets/containers RELEASE in 2009 Number
What is the average size and weight of one pallet/container Width/Height/Depth all in m /kg
Facility:
How many separate rooms does the system supply? Number
What is the total floor area supplied by the system? m2
How much of the floor area is used for:
• Chilled storage m2
• Frozen storage m2
• Blast freezing storage m2
How many doors (total) are there on the room(s)? Number
How many times on average will each door be opened per day? Number
Do the doors have any protection? Don't know/No protection/Strip curtain/Air curtain or Air
lock/Automatic doors
Is product automatically or manually loading into the room? Don't know/Manual (hand or fork lift)/Automatic (robot crane)
Where are the room (s) positioned? Don't know/Inside a building/Outside
What is the age of insulation? Don't know/<5 years/ 5 to 10 years/ 10 to 20 years/>20 years
What is the thickness of the:
• Wall insulation mm
• Ceiling insulation mm
• Thickness of the floor mm
Refrigeration equipment:
Type of refrigeration cycle? Don't know/Single stage/Multi stage/Cascade/Absorption cycle/Air
cycle
Type of refrigeration system? Don't know/Dry evaporator with thermostatic valve/Flooded-
pumped/Flooded-natural circulation
Type of compressors? Don't know/Reciprocating/Screw or Scroll/Rolling
piston/Centrifugal
Do you have economized compressors? Yes/No/Don’t know
What is the compressor control system? Don't know/VSD/Unloading/Other
How are compressors controlled? Don't know/Suction pressure/Room air temperature/Other
Type of condensors? Don't know/Air cooled/Evaporative/Water cooled/Cooling
tower/Other
Defrost type? Don't know/Hot gas/Electric/Passive/Other
Do you use any heat from the refrigeration plant? Yes/No/Don’t know
• If yes, what for Water heating/Floor heating/Other heating
What is the year of installation of the system? Year
Table 1. Information collected in survey.
 ICR 2011, August 21 - 26 - Prague, Czech Republic

3. RESULTS

3.1. Energy usage per cubic meter.

The data collected for energy used per cubic meter in the survey were compared to the data collected by
Werner et al (2006) in New Zealand and the IIR figures for minimum and maximum energy usage (Duiven
and Binard, 2002). Data for chilled stores are presented in Figure 3, data from frozen stores in Figure 4 and
data for mixed temperatures stores in Figure 5.

The differences between the energy consumed per cubic meter per year for the Europe and New Zealand
stores were examined by ANOVA (analysis of variance). The chilled and mixed temperature stores were not
statistically different (P>0.05). However, there were only 2 European chilled stores for comparison and so
the result for chilled stores may be questionable as the sample was probably too small to be truly
representative. The frozen stores from Europe and New Zealand were statistically different (P<0.05) with the
European stores consuming less energy than the stores in New Zealand.

On average the European frozen stores (61.9 kWh/m3/year) used more energy than the European chilled
stores (44.3 kWh/m3/year) and the European mixed stores (65.9 kWh/m3/year) used more energy than either
the chilled or frozen stores. However, statistically there was no difference between the energy used by the
chilled, frozen or mixed European cold stores (P>0.05).

MWh/year Chilled foods
25000
NZ
Europe
20000
IIR min
IIR max
15000

10000

5000

0
0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000
Room volume (m3)
Figure 3. Annual energy usage per cubic meter for all chilled stores.
 ICR 2011, August 21 - 26 - Prague, Czech Republic

MWh/year Frozen foods
25000
NZ
Europe
20000
IIR min
IIR max
15000

10000

5000

0
0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000
Room volume (m3)
Figure 4. Annual energy usage per cubic meter for all frozen stores.

MWh/year Mixed chilled and frozen foods
25000
NZ
Europe
20000
IIR min
IIR max
15000

10000

5000

0
0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000
Room volume (m3)
Figure 5. Annual energy usage per cubic meter for all mixed chilled and frozen stores.

3.2. Effect of throughput on energy used by cold stores.

The effect of annual food throughput in the European cold stores on energy consumption per cubic meter is
presented in Figure 6. It would be expected that stores would use more energy for a higher food throughput
as this would increase store door openings and might even add a product heat load to the store. There was no
statistical difference (P>0.05) between throughputs for chilled, frozen or mixed stores and no clear evidence
that greater product throughputs increased energy usage per cubic meter.
 ICR 2011, August 21 - 26 - Prague, Czech Republic

kWh/m3/year Frozen Chilled Mixed

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 160,000
Throughput (tonnes/year)
Figure 6. The effect of throughput on energy usage.

3.3. The effect of cold store temperature on energy consumption.

The effects of the store temperature on energy consumption for the European cold stores are shown in Figure
7. It should be expected that temperature should have an effect on cold store energy usage. However, there
was no relationship between the actual store temperature and the energy consumption. In fact there were
frozen stores that operated more efficiently than chilled or mixed temperature stores indicating that other
usage factors far outweigh the effect of temperature alone.

kWh/m3 Chilled Frozen Mixed chilled Mixed f rozen

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10
Temperature (°C)
Figure 7. The effect of cold store temperature on energy usage.
 ICR 2011, August 21 - 26 - Prague, Czech Republic

4. DISCUSSION

The data collected from both Europe and New Zealand shows the considerable variation in energy used by
cold stores. Over the 2 surveys the efficiency of chilled stores varied from 20 to 97 kWh/m3/year, frozen
stores varied from 20 to 425 kWh/m3/year and mixed stores from 26 to 130 kWh/m3/year. Therefore the
figure of 30 kWh/m3/year quoted by Duiven and Binard (2002) as being an extremely efficient cold store can
be achieved. The figure quoted by Duiven and Binard of 50 kWh/m3/year for the most energy intensive
stores appears to be low for any of the store types examined.

The data show that there is considerable potential to reduce energy used by cold stores in Europe. As the
differences in energy usage between chilled, frozen and mixed stores was not as great as was envisaged there
must be other factors affecting energy use. Food throughput or actual storage temperature within the cold
stores were not a significant influence on energy usage and therefore other usage factors must have a
significant effect on operation. Although a great deal of operational data is being collected as part of the
European survey there is not yet sufficient data to enable a detailed analysis of operational factors. As more
data is collected the effect of operational factors will be further investigated.

5. CONCLUSIONS

Although the number of data sets from the European survey is still relatively small, preliminary analysis of
the data indicate that considerable differences exist between stores of similar sized and product throughputs.
The results to date indicate that other operation factors have a major effect on cold store performance and
this will be investigated more fully as more data is collected and through the energy audits and other ICE-E
initiatives.

Data collected from European cold store indicates that their efficiency is similar to other chilled and mixed
temperature cold stores in New Zealand but that European frozen stored may consume less energy than their
New Zealand counterparts. The reasons for this are still unclear but will be further investigated as new data
becomes available. Work to collect more data is ongoing as part of the ICE-E project and this will compare a
greater number of the variables listed in Table 1 to determine whether any have a direct effect on energy
consumption of the stores.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank EACI (Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation) for funding this work and
in particular the project officer, Christophe Coudun for his help in managing the project.
Further information on the ICE-E project can be found at www.ice-e.eu.

6. REFERENCES

Clodic D, Palandre L. 2004. Determination of Comparative. HCFC and HFC Emission Profiles for the Foam
and Refrigeration Sectors until 2015. Part 1. Refrigerant Emission. Profiles. Centre d’Energetique.
Duiven JE, Binard P. 2002. Refrigerated storage: new developments. Bulletin of the IIR – No. 2002-2.
Evans, JA, Gigiel AJ. 2007. Reducing the energy consumption in cold stores. The 22nd IIR International
Congress of Refrigeration. Beijing, China. August 21-26, 2007.
Evans JA, Gigiel A. 2010. Reducing energy consumption in cold storage rooms. IIR ICCC, Cambridge 29-
31 March 2010.
Market Transformation Programme – http://www.mtprog.com/
Swain MJ. 2006. Improving the energy efficiency of food refrigeration operations. IChemE Food and Drink
Newsletter, 4 Sept.
Werner SRL, Vaino F, Merts I, Cleland DJ. 2006. Energy use in the New Zealand cold storage industry. IIR-
IRHACE Conference, The University of Auckland, 2006.
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