Panasonic adds energy efficient glass on freezer doors
21st July 2024
JAPAN: Panasonic’s use of vacuum insulated glass (VIG) on new reach-in freezer upright display cases is said to offer energy savings of up to 33% compared to conventional units.
The door structure combines vacuum insulated glass with another sheet of glass. The VIG combines the insulating properties of a vacuum layer in a 6 mm thick unit. Together, the glass unit is said to be equal to or better than triple glazing and approximately 7.5 times than that of a single piece of glass. In addition, lead-free vacuum sealing material is used in the glass joints, so it is safe to use in food displays.
In addition to its high insulation properties, it further improves cooling efficiency by suppressing frost formation and reduces heater power consumption. The glass surface heater is powered only when defrosting to prevent glass fogging (defrosting time 30 minutes, twice per day).
Energy savings of up to 33% are said to be achieved with the new freezers compared to Panasonics previous EV Series models with triple glass.
When five standard triple-glass door models were replaced with VIG energy-saving door models in an actual store, the required freezing capacity per unit was reportedly reduced by approximately 36%. This would make it possible to downgrade the freezer, reducing running costs and saving space.
The vacuum insulated glass technology has previously been developed for plasma displays on televisions, business for home televisions. Panasonic first entered the vacuum insulated glass business in 2017 and has since been considering its application for cold chain products. Panasonic claims that this is the industry’s first application of the product in a reach-in freezer display case.
The freezer models are in two-door and three-door versions: 1447mm wide and 2160mm wide, respectively. They are designed for use with CO2, R448A, R449A and R410A.
