Energy saving defrost on cleantech stage
23rd March 2014
UK: A new technology which could save £1.6bn on supermarket refrigeration energy costs is to be presented to cleantech investors in Monaco this week.
The technology, an energy-saving alternative to traditional electric defrost heaters developed and patented by UK company Frigesco, is to be presented at CleanEquity Monaco, an annual invitation-only event hosted by Innovator Capital, the London based specialist cleantech investment bank. Those attending include senior financial and strategic cleantech investors, policy makers, legislators and end users.
The Frigesco system uses a small thermal store to store waste heat that is used to defrost an evaporator using a thermo siphon. The thermal store also sub-cools the liquid entering the cabinet and so has added benefits during the period when the cabinet is refrigerating. The Frigesco defrost system is said to be virtually energy-free and rapid with much less unwanted heat entering the cabinet. Tests have shown that reduction in total refrigeration power consumption of at least 25% is possible.
The developers claim that the annual potential energy savings from adopting the Frigesco system in supermarkets worldwide could amount to £1.6bn with rapid pay back on the installation costs. The technology can also be applied to all parts of the cold chain from domestic freezers, cold rooms, refrigerated containers and heat pumps.
It is estimated that in the UK alone annual savings would be 230,000 tonnes of CO² if all the freezer cabinets running in 2010 were converted to the Frigesco defrost system. Worldwide, the effect of modifying all 4.8 million existing supermarket frozen food cabinets would lead to an 18 million tonne per annum reduction in CO² emissions.
Last month, the technology was awarded the Best in Show award for their presentation at Cleantech Innovate 2014, organised by Eco-Connect. The event, the largest innovation showcase of its kind in the UK, was held at the headquarters of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London. Richard Willmott, Frigesco finance director, made the presentation, which can be seen below:
