At Food Chain UAE, held in Dubai on May 9 and 10, 2011, Amitesh Singh of Emerson, talked about ways to increase profitability through energy efficiency and intelligent store, while Javier Lazaro of Danfoss, delivered a presentation looking at the correlation between food safety and store profitability. Here, in Part 4 of our continuing coverage of the seminar, we bring you an overview of the key issues covered.

Presentation 1
Amitesh Singh, Marketing Manager, Emerson

Singh from Emerson addressed the challenges faced by retailers and the whole food chain in order to balance energy efficiency, profitability and food safety.

One of the key obstacles, he said, is weighing up profitability and increasing market share against innovation and market differentiation.

Other major challenges include HACCP compliance, food loss/spoilage costs, equipment reliability, spiralling maintenance costs, increasing energy bills, the need for efficient systems and better design.

The company, which, in 2010, clocked up US$21 billion sales, claimed that it can effectively respond to these challenges through a number of custom-made products, which include compressors, condensing units, controls and controllers and unit coolers.

Singh added that Emerson can provide high energy efficiency solutions with increased reliability and local support, which allow retailers to reduce costs by up to 30%.

One of them is the Copeland Scroll, which, he claimed, boasts full compliance, defined as the ability of the scrolls to separate under abnormal conditions, among its key features.

Scrolls, he explained, separate for better liquid handling and debris tolerance.

The solution also features both radial and axial compliance between scroll members for longer life.

“It’s a patented technology that cannot be found in any other scroll,” Singh claimed.

Furthermore, the scrolls polish and “wear in” solve the issue of tip seals wearing out.

“Full compliance improves efficiency, durability, sound and reliability,” he said.

Singh went on to present Emerson ZX Refrigeration Condensing Unit.

The air-cooled condensing unit uses a highly efficient scroll and it is designed and tested for high ambient.

It offers an electronics control board, which includes self diagnostics /communications base control, compressor protection and liquid injection/vapour control.

He also claimed that the condensing unit design is very affordable and that the unit is built for robust outdoor applications. Furthermore, running noise is quite low.

Later on, Singh discussed the benefits of digital foodservice applications.

He explained that matching varying loads helps lower energy and operating costs, contributes to more effective phased project matching and increases floor plan and fixture flexibility.

Precise temperature control (±0.5°C) enables to carry out an operation at desired conditions, contributes to food safety by extending shelf life and provides an opportunity to raise suction pressure.

Reduced compressor cycling, on the other hand, increases compressor and contactor life.

He also advocated the technical superiority of the simple modulation scheme, which, compared to the inverter drive, doesn’t present any oil return issue.

Furthermore, in his view, simple modulation scheme is more reliable and requires lower maintenance and lower installed or applied costs.

Self-contained heat load reduction, Singh argued, also benefits A/C size and energy consumption.

He then presented a refrigerated transportation case study.

One of Emerson’s clients, Dole, needed to address two key challenges to transport food items in refrigerated marine shipping containers: global delivery and temperature control.

Singh claimed that, by using Emerson Copeland Scroll Compressor, Dole managed to achieve precise temperature and humidity control.

The customer, who ships 37 billion lbs. of bananas each year, was able to maintain temperature control in refrigerated sea containers to within +/- 0.5° F, preventing an estimated US$500 million of shrink and spoilage for the industry.

Furthermore, he claimed, the digital scroll compressor increases energy efficiency by 46%, reducing CO2 emissions and saving millions of dollars in fuel costs.

Presentation 2
Javier Lazaro, Sales Director, Danfoss

Lazaro from Danfoss claimed that, with more than 20 years experience in developing electronic controls solutions, the company is able to provide solutions which allow up to 35% energy savings on actual consumption, enabling food retail clients to save costs through an intelligent use of energy.

Furthermore, he said, its products help customers comply with HACCP and other food safety regulations, reducing food losses and equipment downtime, as well as reducing maintenance and service costs through tool & data management for routines and early warnings.

Danfoss products, Lazaro explained, can be used to improve efficiency in a number of applications such as refrigeration (evaporators, compressors and condensers, fan, rail heat, cases lighting and defrost, heat recovery), HVAC (independent equipment coordination, on/off scheduling, store temperature monitoring), lights (indoor & outdoor, on/off scheduling, light sensors).

Lazaro, who pointed out that Danfoss assists Middle East’s companies in designing and developing tailored solutions for their specific needs, also introduced the AK-HS1000 Product Simulation Sensor, among other products.

He claimed that the sensor provides precise and accurate temperature sensing for a Critical Control Point (CCP) ranging from -35°C to +15°C, stable and accurate response to temperature variations, a response Time Constant (t90) of < 15-mins, in compliance with EN441-13 legislation.

Furthermore, he said, the sensor is supplied in a neat and clean IP54 enclosure, clearly identified for HACCP purposes, and it’s easy to mount in new or existing cases or cold rooms.

A Danfoss manufacturing “Certificate of Performance” is supplied with each new sensor.

Lazaro went on to examine the key issues for temperature control via case and cold room controllers, – namely, standard temperature control, measuring accuracy, product simulation temperature and case cleaning – claiming that Danfoss sensors can address all of them.

He added that measuring and monitoring is essential as it improves energy efficiency and environmental impact, food quality and safety, as well as total operational costs.

Lazaro concluded his presentation by claiming that food retail stores implementing Danfoss’ ADAP-KOOL solutions to control refrigeration, lighting and air conditioning can achieve more than 20% savings on energy, with a pay-back time of one to two years.

“Today, only half of modern food retail stores globally are energy-efficiently controlled,” he said.