Custom-built coldroom condensing unit

MAE Refrigeration supplied a custom-built coldroom condensing unit for one of our local commercial clients.

This condensing unit was engineered and sized in-house to provide maximum energy efficiency. It will provide our client with 30% savings on running costs over the 15-year lifecycle of the system!

The unit and system comes equipped with energy saving devices, including a variable frequency drive (VFD), electronic expansion valves, EC fans, and a generously sized condenser to allow efficient operation in any conditions.

The use of VFD in refrigeration applications provides dramatic energy savings, achieved by varying the range of speeds of the compressor and condenser fan motors that drive the refrigeration systems.

Most standard refrigeration systems are designed to operate at maximum load conditions on a fixed speed basis, and consume the same amount of energy at peak load and low load. A majority of the time, a refrigeration system is operating at or near its required holding temperature and minimum capacity requirements but is still using full energy consumption on a fixed speed basis.

The addition of a VFD into the system ensures the compressor is ramping/slowing down and consuming energy only as required, and directly in line with the heat load of the day and the load requirements of the room. Electronic valves have such a wide control capacity that they allow the compressors to always operate in the optimum conditions (according to the outside environmental conditions). For example, in Winter, the circuit can operate with a very low condensing pressure, improving the efficiency of the compressors and reducing power consumption.

An electronic valve allows more effective temperature control, ensuring a lower operating temperature by better exploiting the surface of the evaporator. This means the system does not require future adjustments, as the electronics continuously implement the control action based on the parameters read by the transducers located at the evaporator outlet, maintaining the super-heat values at the optimum levels for which a self-adapting algorithm is used.

Another great example of the work completed by our skilled refrigeration technicians!