Installation issues, maintenance and service come up for discussion

Danfoss in May organised a food quality seminar in Dubai, the aim of which was to introduce its Adap-Kool system as a solution for food retailers.

The seminar attracted clients in the form of supermarket chains in the UAE, who while eager to learn about energy-efficiency solutions, wanted to hear about reliability-related issues of the compressors and other equipment, proper installation procedures and satisfactory after-sales service by qualified and trained technicians.

Javier Lazaro, Sales Director (EMA) at Danfoss, led the presentation, with support from Vikram Singh, Sales Manager (Food Retail), Danfoss.

In his presentation, Lazaro said that anything that Danfoss implemented in terms of refrigeration solutions came at no extra cost to the clients, motivated as it was by a need to fulfill compliance requirements imposed by HACCP. The solutions, he added, aided in reducing food loss and in realising energy savings, which worked to 35% of actual consumption.

Then, speaking specifically on energy efficiency, Lazaro said that 30% of the energy consumed in supermarkets went for HVAC systems, 21% for lighting and a whopping 41% for refrigeration, with eight per cent for other functions and facilities. (Some members of the audience pointed out, though, that there was a need to factor in the power consumed by the bakery, in the form of ovens, which was quite substantial, and that the HVAC load was slightly higher than 30%.)

Lazaro said the potential for energy savings existed, in the forms of evaporator efficiency; compressor and condenser efficiency; fan, rail heat and defrost efficiency; and heat recovery (HVAC).

Speaking, in particular, about HVAC systems, Lazaro highlighted independent equipment coordination (AHUs, split units), on/ off scheduling (per store zones) and the measuring of the store temperature as important aspects to realising efficiency.

If you have a drive, it is important to run the electronic expansion valves, Lazaro added. “With an electronic expansive valve, you bring advantage to the controller and bring defrost efficiency,” he said. “You can optimise the defrost function, the number of defrosts you want to have.”

Responding to the presentation, a member of the audience said that energy efficiency was a commendable goal, but no matter how energy-efficient he got as a supermarket, there was no way he could be anything but a top-tier consumer, in the context of DEWA’s slab-rate tariff system. “The Government does not give me any incentive to cut down on power use, though I must add that electricity is cheaper here when compared to Europe. In other words, I don’t get a tier-bonus for consuming less here.”

Further, Lazaro said that it was the endeavour of Danfoss to provide reliable and easyto- use products, tools and data management solutions for automated routines. “We provide tools to facilitate maintenance, to optimise service routines, and to carry out intelligent data analysis and early alert and pro-active protocols,” he said. “We provide service for preventing maintenance.”

Responding to the maintenance and service features highlighted by Lazaro, another member of the audience said that local support was important to her as a client. She said she was keen on associating with a global partner, as long as she got adequate local support. “However, there is a serious issue that most technicians are not able to use the maintenance equipment,” the member of the audience said. “Though Danfoss provides automatic controls, without proper knowledge, technicians bypass and make it manual.”

Responding to this, Singh said that Danfoss was happy to organise workshops to give hands-on training to technicians from the client’s side.