Save surprising sums on commercial refrigerator running costs
Energy consumption is one of the biggest costs faced by most businesses. For those in the food retail sector, much of these overheads come from running commercial refrigeration units. Significant savings can be made with some small tweaks.
Food retail outlets are responsible for 3% of the UK’s electricity usage. A 2020 survey by the Environmental Investigation Agency found that simply putting doors on supermarket refrigerators could cut annual consumption by 33% – enough electricity to power 50,000 homes.
There are other ways to cut electricity usage by commercial refrigerators too:
Basic refrigerator maintenance
It stands to reason that if your refrigerators do have doors that they be kept closed when not in use. Sometimes customers may leave them open – particularly models with sliding doors. It pays to remind staff to shut doors as they pass. Loose seals also allow cold air to escape and let warm air in, which means the fans have to work harder to maintain a chilled temperature.
Refrigerator stock rotation
Group similar items together to maintain the refrigerator in an almost-full state but ensure there is sufficient room for good airflow. Also, unload cold deliveries immediately as the unit will have to work harder to chill items that may be approaching room temperature.
Upgrade your refrigerator fans
One of the simplest ways to improve the energy efficiency of commercial coolers is to upgrade the fans from AC types to EC. EC fan motors can be up to 30% more efficient than their AC equivalents. Often, EC fans can be installed as ‘drop in’ replacements for AC ones which reduces any potential downtime.
Consider LED lighting in your refrigerator
LED lights consume less energy and emit less heat than old-style bulbs so delivering cost savings in two ways. They tend to be brighter than their older equivalents too which shows off food in a better way to customers.
Have a commercial refrigerator maintenance plan
Implement a cleaning and maintenance regime for your commercial refrigerators. That means keeping the condenser and evaporator coils clean in particular and having an annual inspection conducted on each unit.
Brooktech’s team of fully accredited engineers will work with you from installation and maintenance of cooling solutions right through to full replacement projects. Get in touch to find out more.
