Is your fridge costing you a fortune to run this Summer?
Is your fridge costing you a fortune to run this Summer?
It's not like you going to turn your commercial fridges off.
Summer has arrived, & with the soaring temperatures blasting over 30°C in Sydney, commercial fridges are having to work hard in the scorching conditions.
While Summer's great for Cafe & Restaurants, it puts a strain on your fridges motor. So keeping your fridges in tip top condition during this busy time is essential to keep them running.
So are your fridge ready for Summer? Are you sure?
So if you keep reading, you'll get some cool Tips (Sorry I couldn't resist the pun) on keeping your Fridges running efficiently over summer & reducing your power bills. How does that sound?
I get to those money saving tips in a minute, but I need to give you quick Science Lesson so know How & Why your fridges works.
Warning Science Lesson How & Why Your Fridges Works
So how does your fridge cool your food?
Your refrigerator removes heat from the food inside. Keeping your food cold.
So your fridge extracts heat from food. Technically your fridge doesn't add coldness. Instead, they suck the heat out of food.
A fridge works on 2 principles
- Gases cool when they expand...
- If two objects are at different temperatures and are near each other, the hotter object cools and the cooler object warms. This is called Newton’s 2nd Law of Thermodynamics....
Newton’s 2nd Law of Thermodynamics for Refrigerator
Your refrigeration system uses a series of coils to transfer heat out of the fridge to cool your fridge’s interior. There 2 types of coils, the evaporator coils and condenser coils.
When you place room temperature groceries in your fridge, it starts sucking the heat out of food. Sending heat to the coils at the back or the bottom of the fridge. So the coils takes the heat that's on the inside and sends it to the outside.
Your fridge is gonna suck the heat out of your produce and pushes the heat outside of your fridge. Once your produce has had its heat removed it doesn't take any extra energy to keep it cool because its heat has already been removed.
Your fridge keeps running once the contents have cooled because heat keeps entering your fridge every time you open your fridge. So if you run a busy kitchen, this will always be happening.
Refrigerators and coolrooms consume a lot of energy
So if you adopt best practice for reducing refrigeration then get the benefit of saving money.
I guess it's a no brainer. Your fridges need & uses heaps of power, and if you have a lot of fridges, then this can be an expensive ongoing cost. But it’s possible to get, 20% energy savings by getting regular maintenance and with prudent use of your fridges.
In certain industries, refrigeration can be responsible for up to 85% of total energy consumption, depending on the industry sector: Liquid milk processing 25%; Breweries 35%; Confectionery 40%; Chilled ready meals 50%; Frozen food 60%; Cold storage 85%.
Energy Efficiency Best Practice Guide - Industrial Refrigeration by Sustainability Victoria
So it’s time to start saving money by getting your fridges to run more efficiently, So you’ll use less power and save money.
Replace Poor Fridge Door Seals
One of quickest & easiest fix is often the most neglected.
The constant opening of your fridge causes your door seals to perish, so they let the cold air out.
If your fridge door seal isn't sealing properly, then the cold air is escaping. So now your fridge is working much harder, consuming more power to keep & maintain your produce at the right temperature.
A poor sealing door gasket can lead to evaporator freeze-ups, & you then get warm food. Which is dangerous & cost you money in higher power bills & wastage.
If your fridge door does not shut properly because of a damaged gasket, then you can increase your running cost by 25 to 50 percent. So that should be a good reason to check your seals & fix them.
Depending on the damage to the seal if the seal just lose then it’s easy to glue and reattach them. Most of the new fridges offer "push-in" gaskets so you can replace without tools. All you have to do is ring manufacturer or agent give them the model number & they can put on a courier. Easy solved you can then replace the seals in minutes.
Or get a refrigeration service technician to replace all seals.
Location, location, location - Correct Cabinet placement Helps Your Fridge
Just like in Real Estate your fridges location plays an important in reducing your power costs.
It’s obviously easier to consider your fridge location when your setting your commercial kitchen. But it's still worth thinking how this can reduce your hungry fridges power cravings.
When designing your Commercial Kitchen you're looking to find a balance between your kitchen work triangle, so it works efficiently, without Putting fridges to close hot ovens, fryers & cooktops. So your fridge is not working as hard to keep your food cold.
Make sure the front and to the rear of your refrigeration unit is clear of obstructions and use ventilation standoffs. Refrigerators work best in cool positions with plenty of air circulation.
Your fridge is not a shelf, so don't stack boxes of cups on it because it prevents air circulation.
If the airflow is Blocked, then this will lead to increased power consumption and in extreme cases cause the motor to overheat.
Your fridge will use less energy if you keep it away from heat and also place it where the heat it generates can easily dissipate.
GE recommends refrigerators be placed only in rooms where the temperature range stays between 15° and 45°C. So In warmer conditions, your fridge could stop running, and you risk burning out the motors because they have to work harder to keep your produce cold...
Keep Your Fridge Door Closed
So you remember how I mentioned Newton’s 2nd Law of Thermodynamics this comes into play every time you open your fridge door. The cool air escapes & now your fridge has to extract the heat from the warm air in your fridge.
The Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida claim poor open/close habits waste 50 to 120kWh a year, which would be 10-24% of a 500 kWh/yr. Fridge.
The biggest offender for temperature loss of fridges is leaving the fridge door open.
So the heat which infiltrates your coolroom when the door is opened increases by up to 50 percent between normal and heavy usage.
If your fridge has more than one door, only open the door you need to access.
You need to get on top, by keeping the fridge door shut when not in use, because it costs you money every time you open your fridge.
As an incentive to close your fridge every dollar, you save you get to keep.
Cover Your coolroom doorways
Your Coolroom wastes a lot of power maintaining your refrigerated temperature of your food, everytime someone opens the door.
Cool rooms are not efficient for frequent access. So your staff are always going coolroom during service for every new order, then it costs a lot of money. So you use your other fridges more wisely to keep your power costs down.
Install plastic strips on coolroom doorways to maintain internal temperature when the doors are opened and closed.
By adding plastic strips to your walk-in cooler doors, you can reduce your coolroom heat gain by 30% when the door is open. That could be as much 20kW a day saving.
You can even get twice the energy reduction by installing an air-curtain.
You may have seen these in the perishables section of a grocery store vertical transparent plastic strips. They are easy to install, & will save plenty of money.
Set thermostats for produce in your fridge then Don’t turn the temperature down
Once you've got your fridge temperatures set right, you won't need to fiddle with the settings to cope with a load of warm produce.
If got the right fridge then your food will get cold without chewing up heaps of power. But turning the temperature control to colder when you put in a large load won't speed up the cooling process. It'll just mean your food ends up colder.
A unit running at four degrees Celsius will have a forced draft evaporator operating at minus 1.1 degrees Celsius compared with a static evaporator which has to run at minus 6.7 degrees Celsius to maintain the same temperature, which results in the cooling system costing more to run.
Every degree you lower fridge temperature adds 3% to running costs.
Set your fridge temperature correctly in your storage refrigerator and don’t use them to chill cooked food or you will affect the overall temperature and risk your other stored food.
Which is better keeping your Fridge Empty or Full?
It may surprise you that it costs you more money to run an empty fridge.
So let me explain, if you fill an empty fridge it requires a lot more effort to bring the temperature of your produce, because as soon as you open the fridge, you have let out the cold air. The fridges has to work hard extract the heat from your produce.
So then we go the other way Cram everything into the fridge because you think having more in will stop the transfer of heat from cold the warm products.
So don't overstock your fridge. It can be tempting to load more product into your chiller during the busy season. But don’t overstock (double stocking or placing product over air grilles) because it will reduce good internal airflow So your fridge needs to work harder.
Airflow keeps products properly chilled and prevents the cabinet’s motor from overheating and creating maintenance issues.
If you make sure each fridge is 2/3 full, then when gets below move more produce from Coolroom to stop your fridge doing all the heavy lifting. There's where you use your Coolroom as your stock starts going.
Keep refrigeration systems clean and well maintained to prevent inefficient operation and breakdowns.
We don’t like our cars running like a busted. So we regularly get our cars serviced, so they use less fuel and run more efficiently.
Just like a car you should apply the same maintenance programs to your Commercial Fridges, so you get the best & long term investment return from your fridge.
There's nothing worse in Summer than your Fridge dying because you neglected to service your fridge.
Now you're facing health risks with keeping your food in the safe Temperature of below 4°c.
What a waste. So now you end up with your food spoiling.
You now need a refrigeration serviceman urgently, which going to cost you a fortune, or worse you're forced to buying a fridge when you weren't budgeting on a new fridge.
Just like your car, your fridge also seems to break down at the most inappropriate time. So be smart invest in good maintenance program for your fridges, so you can avoid the frustrations of a broken down fridge.
The cost of maintaining a good modern fridge is just like the cost of keeping your new car running smoothly. If you choose the right fridge for the job, then look after it by servicing it regularly. You will have a fridge that serves you well without breaking the bank.
It's recommended your fridges are maintained every six months, by a refrigeration qualified technician.
Clean Your Fridges Air Filters
Your fridges have air filters to restrict dust particles and other debris from entering your refrigeration unit.
If your air filters are coated in dust or blocked, then dust particles could bypass your filtration system altogether or, damage your refrigeration unit. The buildup of dust and debris within the refrigeration system, causes the dust to coat refrigeration components like the coils inhibiting your fridges productivity. So it has to work much harder than it should have to & your power skyrocketing.
Keep an eye on your filters & clean them as part of your regular maintenance.
Check Your Cooling System With Regular Ongoing Mintenance
- Keep your outside condenser unit clean, with good ventilation...
- Make sure your inside evaporator is free of ice, so the fans work properly...
- Cleaning your compressor fans so they are free of dust. Use a vacuum or broom to remove the dust build up...
- Check your compressor unit cycle times. If they’re running more than 60% of the time, then you could have a problem. This need to address or spending a lot on your power bills...
- Replace your old compressors (especially belt driven). Replacing them can save 30% of energy consumed and operating costs...
- Remove the scaling and ice build-up on your evaporator fins...
- Get a refrigeration technician to service & lubricate your compressor units...
Do your homework & buy the right fridge rather just the cheapest fridge
SKOPE BME1200-A Active Core 2 Door Display Refrigerator
It's easy to get seduced into buying the cheapest fridge, without looking at the ongoing running costs will eat up your profits.
Like buying any piece of Commercial Kitchen Equipment you should treat your Fridge as Investment.
The problem you face when you need to get a new fridge is the challenge to working out which Brands & 100's of models to choose from. They all claim a certain magic power, but on the surface, all appear the same. So why does it matter anyway?
The expectant life of Commercial fridge is 10 years. So if you buy fridge simply because it's cheap, then you could end up with massive running & maintenance cost.
It's like a buying a printer. If you get a cheap printer then your up exorbitant cost to replace the printer cartridges. Your fridge is no different so now your locked into expensive Power costs. Year on year. This cheap fridge is now liability racking up massive power bills.
To help you make the best decision when purchasing your fridge talk to one our qualified team, who have work in commercial kitchens because they know you demand in your kitchen.
Don't Put Hot Foods In Your Fridge
We are all aware we need to comply with HACCP (hazard analysis critical control points - cold chain management).
So you need to make sure get your hot food through contamination zone your food as quick as possible. You could put them in your Fridge, but now your fridge is working overtime to bring the heat down, so you're chewing up additional power.
Using a Fridge or coolroom for cooling purposes of hot food also puts your other food stored in that coolroom at risk as the overall temperature of the coolroom rises due to the cooked food.
It's not safe to just leave it. So how do get your food below 4°C Safely without killing your fridge?
The Best Practice is to use a Blast Chiller.
Blast chilling is a method of cooling food quickly to a low temperature that is relatively safe from bacterial growth.
Bacteria multiply fastest between +5°C and +68°C.
By reducing the temperature of cooked food using blast chilling from +70°C to +3°C or below within 90 minutes, the food is rendered safe for storage and later consumption. For blast freezing food, the requirement is +90°C to -18°C within 240 minutes.
This method of preserving food is commonly used in food catering as it ensures the safety and the quality of the food product.
Should you turn your non-perishable drinks fridges off overnight?
There has been much debate on the merits of setting a timer to turn off your non-perishable drinks fridges.
The science says this does not add any benefit.
Turning your fridge off overnight won't save you any electricity. Because as soon as you turn the fridge back on, it will have to run for a longer time to get the temperature back down to normal.
Once your fridge reaches the selected temperature, it does not require as much power to keep your compressor running. After closing your fridge does not have to work as hard to maintain its temperature because no ones keeps opening the doors & you have already fixed your leaking seals.
If you leave your fridge on at night, then your compressor only needs run approx for 60 minutes throughout the night, over several start-stop sessions, to keep the temperature constant. But if you turned it off, when you turn it on again then has to run for 60 minutes all at once.
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