B Surendar

There is no dearth of avenues for energy savings in refrigeration from an end-user perspective, be it in the form of evaporator efficiency, compressor and condenser efficiency; fan, rail heat and defrost efficiency and, not to forget, heat recovery. But given the lack of incentives for saving energy, end-users in the region seem more focused on reliability.

The absence of a tier-bonus for consuming less power pushes energy efficiency down the list of priorities. Reliability, on the other hand, is viewed as crucial, considering that end-users reportedly lose an alarming number of compressors a year. While they point out to the innate inability of the component to withstand the rigours of operations, they equally blame poor installation practices and inadequate after-sales support and training, both of which, they say, deter their in-house technicians from properly maintaining the equipment or running it at optimal capacity. A case-in point: though suppliers are able to provide automatic controls, in-house technicians, owing to lack of proper knowledge, bypass the procedures and make it manual, which is counter-productive.

The issue with compressors represents the so-called tip of the iceberg; indeed, other areas of concern demand attention. This issue of Climate Control Middle East includes the inaugural edition of a focused supplement on refrigeration-related issues. To be out on a half-yearly basis, Food Chain – for that’s what it is called – will seek to keep you informed on latest happenings in refrigeration in the form of feature articles, perspectives and case studies. To begin with, we speak on issues concerning the end-user, where a majority of the word-count deals with compressors. Another issue we have sunk our teeth into is supply chain and logistics, where we look at the world of RFID and how it can be deployed in the realm of cold-chain operations.

I hope you enjoy the read and benefit from it. As usual, I’d love to receive feedback (surendar@cpi-industry.com) on Food Chain. As with all new ventures, we are highly excited about the prospect of taking the discussion to a higher realm in the coming months.

B Surendar