Refrigeration developments help save energy
8th September 2020
GERMANY: A new report reveals that despite large increases in the deployment of refrigeration technology in Germany in recent years, energy demand for refrigeration has risen by only 6%.
The new study, “Energy demand for refrigeration technology in Germany” by the VDMA, Germany’s Mechanical Engineering Industry Association, shows technological development trends over time. It compares the year 2017 with 2009, the base year of the previous 2011 study.
During this time, while the inventory of refrigeration systems increased by 16% from around 125 million units to 144 million units, energy demand increased by only 6% to 87TWh).
In all, 84% of this energy requirement was covered by electricity and, accordingly, 14% of German electricity consumption was accounted for by refrigeration applications. Together with their non-electrical systems, refrigeration technology thus accounted for 5.6% of Germany’s primary energy demand in 2017.
The study claims to show that while additional applications of refrigeration technology, especially in the heat pump sector, result in an increasing energy demand, this can be largely offset by efficiency gains.
The study was commissioned by the Research Council for Refrigeration Technology (Forschungsrat Kältetechnik eV – FKT) and the Institute of Air Handling and Refrigeration (ILK) Dresden.
The current study is available for a fee of €250.00 euros as a print version or download file from the Research Council for Refrigeration Technology.
