The plastics industry, among others, should be harnessing autumn's reducing ambient air temperatures to save energy and reduce cooling costs by up to 70%.
That's a suggestion from the engineering team at ICS Cool Energy, which suggests 'Free Cooling' technology, as sometimes adopted in industrial temperature control and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems.
Typically, a free cooler is installed in series with a chiller's evaporator (independent or integrated) so that, in lower ambient conditions, partial or 100% free cooling can be achieved – with the chiller's compressors off.
ICS Cool Energy says it recently implemented free cooling technology for an unnamed Midlands-based manufacturer of plastic window profiles.
The firm supplied an Imperium 2197 CA chiller with screw compressors and twin R134a refrigeration circuits, to produce 580kW cooling capacity, with a supply temperature of 13°C and a return of 18°C at 28 litres/second.
The units work with free cooling technology and can be used during spring, summer nights, autumn and winter months – helping to save a claimed 68% on the plastic manufacturer's annual energy bill.
"After saving over £50,000, the plastic manufacturer has since reinvested in a second machine in a bid to achieve further savings and fully reap the benefits of free cooling," says an ICS Cool Energy spokesperson.
