Danfoss solutions keep beer cold without warming the planet

Friday, 18 August 2017

Testing at the Danfoss Cooling Application Development Center (ADC) in Baltimore, US demonstrated how a refrigeration customer could remove 572 tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere every year and still ensure the delivery of cold beer.

The Cost of Cold Beer

One of Danfoss Cooling's top customers manufactures the glycol chillers that keep beer cold, fresh, and delicious as it travels from storage to the dispensers in restaurants and bars. Keeping their beer cold is a big priority for these establishments, as their patrons will quickly seek out another brew house if they find their favorite draught is served at any temperature other than frosty cold.

However, keeping beer cool comes at a cost. Traditionally, these types of chillers utilize a glycol-dipped copper coil as an evaporator. However, this solution has several drawbacks: 

  • Copper is expensive
  • A copper coil heat exchanger is bulky and take up a lot of space
  • A greater charge of refrigerant is needed, increasing the impact on the ozone

The Danfoss Micro Plate Heat Exchanger (MPHE) provides the technology that can address each of these concerns and deliver a more efficient cooling system—resulting in decreased energy costs and a much lower total cost of ownership.

 

Bruce Busby, Key Account Manager at Danfoss Cooling, was excited to approach his customer with the opportunity to switch to the Danfoss MPHE. He visited them with a sample of our new, highly efficient Z-pattern MPHE evaporators. The customer was surprised that the heat exchanger, no bigger than an iPhone 6, could replace their large copper coil.

Naturally, the customer wanted to see the MPHE in action and weigh the results before they decided to implement it throughout their entire line. They agreed to provide Danfoss with one of their chiller units for testing at the Danfoss Cooling Application Development Center (ADC) in Baltimore. The tests revealed that by replacing the copper coil with the lighter Danfoss MPHE, there was an 80% weight reduction for their unit. The refrigerant charge was also greatly reduced, which meant an elimination of 400 kg of R134a refrigerant annually—the equivalent of removing 572 tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere every year.

 

The testing results were so positive that they inspired the customer to redesign even more units with additional Danfoss solutions such as expansion devices, condensing units, and filter driers.

You can achieve the same reduction in weight, refrigerant and emission with the Danfoss MPHE technology:

 

Weight Reduction:

The copper coil weighing 3.74 kg was replaced with a Danfoss MPHE with a weight of 0.68 kg, an impressive 80% weight reduction.

 

Refrigerant Reduction:

From 16 oz to 13.2 oz. per unit. Manufacturing 5,000 units per year, the customer can eliminate 400 kg of R134a refrigerant every year.

 

Direct Emission Reduction:

R134a has a GWP of 1430, the reduction of refrigerant charge is equivalent to removing 572 tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere every year.

 

Indirect Emission Reduction:

With improved efficiency of the systems at 90F ambient, the power consumption of the chiller dropped by impressive 9%. This translates into a 1.5 million kWh reduction in power consumption every year, resulting in the elimination of 1,050 tons of CO₂ emissions from power plants generating electricity.


"The right opportunity came when the customer was facing competition from imported glycol chillers and had to find solutions to lower its cost"

 

Bruce Busby
Key Account Manager
Danfoss Cooling

Contact us to find out more about MPHE and how you can partner up with Danfoss Cooling at our application development centers

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