Star Refrigeration has launched a tool to enable cold store operators to benchmark energy consumption and life cycle costs against similar sites across the UK and Europe.
Industrial refrigeration systems use large amounts of energy and typically cost 7-10 times as much to run over their lifetime as they do to buy, according to the Food and Drink Industry Refrigeration Initiative report. In the cold storage sector alone, refrigeration is estimated to account for up to 90% of the energy costs.
The new Chilling Energy Costs tool is able to benchmark the performance of a refrigeration plant vs industry standard and UK best practice guidelines. Star says this will arm end-users with practical knowledge, allowing them to compare electricity consumption and implement energy saving measures to reduce energy spend.
David Wallace, director of sales at Star Refrigeration said, “The cold storage energy consumption benchmarking tool is a quick and simple way to find out if you’re paying more than average on your annual energy bill. You will receive a detailed report demonstrating how your energy consumption compares with other users.”
The energy consumption calculator analyses data to give a detailed insight into how energy efficient a refrigeration plant is. If a user discovers their equipment is consuming more energy than most plants, and higher than the industry standard, Star Refrigeration can signpost a number of services which aim to increase efficiency and reduce energy bills.
Star say that this free benchmarking service is part of its wider strategy to increase awareness of energy consumption within the cold storage industry, with the end goal of reducing carbon emissions and energy costs.
“With energy consumption playing such a huge part in a business’ annual spend, it makes sense to ensure everything is done to make a plant as efficient as possible,” Wallace added. “Not all actions require huge investment, we have found with many customers that simply altering set temperatures or regular maintenance can have a significant impact. As a company we strive for sustainability and pride ourselves on suggesting sensible solutions which help users save money and the planet.”
