Operators could cut energy costs by 20%

James Stagg

Monday 18 July 2011 14:58

Businesses can cut their refrigeration energy bills by up to 20% using simple, low-cost steps, according to a new guide.

Refrigeration can account for a large proportion of overall energy costs, according to the guide's author, the Carbon Trust.

It is calling on businesses to cut their energy bills by checking their refrigeration systems and following the advice in the Refrigeration Systems guide.

The guide includes a range of useful tips and advice including:
● Coldrooms: Open doors can cost you £6 per hour for freezers - use an air-tight store with good door management, lighting and defrost control.
● Heat recovery: Recovering the heat emitted by refrigeration equipment can help to reduce boiler energy consumption by up to 30% - fit your new refrigeration system with an energy saving "desuperheater".
● Chillers: Use a chiller engineered for UK temperatures, with good part-load capacity and efficiency and you could save as much as £25,000 a year for a typical 800kW process chiller.

Richard Rugg, director of delivery services at the Carbon Trust, said: "Any business seeking to cut its costs should be looking at its energy bills and for many companies refrigeration accounts for a large part of those energy costs.

"Savings of up to 20% are possible with simple no-cost and low-cost steps. If your business uses refrigeration, it's an opportunity that's too good to miss."

The Carbon Trust is running a free webinar to help on 20 July. To take part and to view the guide, go to: www.carbontrust.co.uk/expertinenergy.

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By James Stagg

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