International. Below are a series of recommendations made by Nidec Global Appliance to protect refrigeration equipment after quarantine and when turning it back on.
During these times of coronavirus pandemic, quarantine and lockdown, many food businesses have had to temporarily close or their demand has been greatly reduced. In response, some people have chosen to disconnect their equipment to save energy. In this case, there are very simple steps that can be taken to protect the computer so that it works properly when reconnecting it.
Tips for restarting disconnected computers
If the equipment will not be used for several days, disconnection turns out to be the best alternative. Here are some recommendations from David Ramírez and John Prall, application engineers and Denny Martín, technical service specialist at Nidec Global Appliance, the company that owns the Embraco brand. These specialists have several years of experience working with Embraco compressors and refrigeration solutions.
• Before restarting, take the opportunity to perform any maintenance that the equipment needs.
• It is important to ensure that condensers and evaporators are clean before restarting the equipment as this will ensure proper operation.
• When restarting, be sure to check for unusual noises such as liquid hitting the compressor or out-of-balance fans by allowing cabinet refill. Once the equipment restarts again, make sure that the cabinet has reached the calculation temperature of the refrigerated space, allowing it to be filled with product.
• When restarting after a long period of time, there are two things that can happen occasionally: longer time to reach temperature and higher energy consumption, which is normal in this situation.
• It is a good idea to allow the cabinet to reach its temperature before storing products in such a way as not to overload the equipment and unnecessarily increase the start-up time. The compressor works harder during a hot start and will typically remain in a full-load amperage while reaching the correct temperature.
• Once the product is placed, check the cabinet temperature again and confirm the time it took for start-up. If possible, take the amperage consumption on all motors once the cabinet has reached temperature. It is also a good time to inspect and adjust all electrical connections.
• If you must restart your computer with a large stock of products, then after the restart, avoid shutting it down again for at least 24 hours. It is also advisable to allow the equipment to reach a stable temperature condition before placing more products.
• The most important part to consider when refueling equipment that has been off is that the product that is deposited in the cabinet is at room temperature and is not too hot as it will take longer to reach the appropriate temperature.
To conclude, David Ramírez explains that disconnecting the equipment to save energy is not always the best option if it is only for short periods of time. "Normally, you have the idea that you'll improve energy consumption by turning off equipment at times of low demand, such as at night. But in this case, we have to take into account that when we disconnect the equipment, the internal temperature tends to increase and when we turn it on, it will require more energy to lower this temperature, he explains. "Temperature variation also accelerates the decomposition of food and beverages, so the recommendation, in situations of short periods, would be to place the equipment in economy mode and not turn it off," adds the engineer.
