Provided below is some info on Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and HVAC systems based on our Directors 35 year experience

The main purpose of  Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems is to provide the best quality air at work and at home for the lowest on-going price in terms of power, energy and operating costs. Our business at Set Point Technology (SPT) is to help you realise these objectives. The concept of a SET POINT in HVAC is to achieve your own personal air quality, temperature, humidity and freshness. That is, perhaps 21 degrees at night in winter when it’s 10 degrees outside or to lower humidity on muggy nights by using the cooling function or just bringing in fresh air from outside. Three recent technology advances in the HVAC may be of great interest: A) Total control of your work or home environments ANYWHERE and ON DEMAND with Mitsubishi WI-FI (at work, use your phone to switch (or set on and off) your heat pump at home when it has completed removing condensation, for example) B) Balanced Air Ventilation Systems that remove air from your home or office as well as provide fresh air from outside (two fans where one pulls fresh air inside and one that pushes stale air out) C) Energy Recovery Ventilation (see the Lossnay System from Mitsubishi, that integrates with your Aircon or HVAC systems)  for supreme air-quality every hour of the day, 24 days a week. Our mission at Set Point is to help you deliver the cleanest, freshest air possible so please contact us to discuss you own unique needs and project in more detail. Kind regards, Paul and the team at SPT.

Conditioning Air: Some thoughts and concepts based on my 35 years in the industry

An air conditioner (often referred to as AC or air con.) is an appliance, system, ormechanism designed to stabilise the air temperature and humidity within an area (used for cooling as well as heating depending on the air properties at a given time), typically using a refrigeration cycle but sometimes using evaporation, commonly for comfort cooling in buildings and motor vehicles.

Comfort applications aim to provide a building indoor environment that remains relatively constant in a range preferred by humans despite changes in external weather conditions or in internal heat loads.

Air conditioning makes deep plan buildings feasible, for otherwise they’d have to be built narrower or with light wells so that inner spaces receive sufficient outdoor air via natural ventilation. Air conditioning also allows buildings to be taller since wind speed increases significantly with altitude making natural ventilation impractical for very tall buildings. Comfort applications for various building types are quite different and may be categorized as

Low-Rise Residential buildings, including single family houses, duplexes, and small apartment buildings

High-Rise Residential buildings, such as tall dormitories and apartment blocks

Commercial buildings, which are built for commerce, including offices, malls, shopping centers, restaurants, etc.

Institutional buildings, which includes hospitals, governmental, academic, and so on.

Industrial spaces where thermal comfort of workers is desired.

In addition to buildings, air conditioning can be used for many types of transportation – motor-cars and other land vehicles, trains, ships, aircraft, and spacecraft.

Process applications aim to provide a suitable environment for a process being carried out, regardless of internal heat and humidity loads and external weather conditions. Although often in the comfort range, it is the needs of the process that determine conditions, not human preference. Process applications include these:

Hospital operating theatres, in which air is filtered to high levels to reduce infection risk and the humidity controlled to limit patient dehydration. Although temperatures are often in the comfort range, some specialist procedures such as open heart surgery require low temperatures (about 18 °C, 64 °F) and others such as neonatal relatively high temperatures (about 28 °C, 82 °F).

Cleanrooms for the production of integrated circuits, pharmaceuticals, and the like, in which very high levels of air cleanliness and control of temperature and humidity are required for the success of the process.

Facilities for breeding laboratory animals. Since many animals normally only reproduce in spring, holding them in rooms at which conditions mirror spring all year can cause them to reproduce year-round.

Aircraft air conditioning. Although nominally aimed at providing comfort for passengers and cooling of equipment, aircraft air conditioning presents a special challenge because of the changing density altitude associated with changes in altitude, humidity and temperature of the outside air[vague].

 Air conditioning

Main article: Air conditioning

Air conditioning and refrigeration are provided through the removal of heat. The definition of cold is the absence of heat and all air conditioning systems work on this basic principle. Heat can be removed through the process of radiation, convection, and Heat cooling through a process called the refrigeration cycle. The conduction using mediums such as water, air, ice, and chemicals referred to as refrigerants.

An air conditioning system, or a standalone air conditioner, provides cooling, ventilation, andhumidity control for all or part of a house or building. The refrigerant cycle consists of four essential elements to create a cooling effect. A compressor provides compression for the system. This compression causes the cooling vapor to heat up. The compressed vapor is then cooled by heat exchange with the outside air, so that the vapor condenses to a fluid, in the condenser. The fluid is then pumped to the inside of the building, where it enters an evaporator. In this evaporator, small spray nozzles spray the cooling fluid into a chamber, where the pressure drops and the fluid evaporates. Since the evaporation absorbs heat from the surroundings, the surroundings cool off, and thus the evaporator absorbs or adds heat to the system. The vapor is then returned to the compressor. A metering device acts as a restriction in the system at the evaporator to ensure that the heat being absorbed by the system is absorbed at the proper rate.

Central, ‘all-air’ air conditioning systems are often installed in modern residences, offices, and public buildings, but are difficult to retrofit (install in a building that was not designed to receive it) because of the bulky air ducts required. A duct system must be carefully maintained to prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the ducts. An alternative to large ducts to carry the needed air to heat or cool an area is the use of remote fan coils or split systems. These systems, although most often seen in residential applications, are gaining popularity in small commercial buildings. The coil is connected to a remote condenser unit using piping instead of ducts.

Dehumidification in an air conditioning system is provided by the evaporator. Since the evaporator operates at a temperature below dew point, moisture is collected at the evaporator. This moisture is collected at the bottom of the evaporator in a condensate pan and removed by piping it to a central drain or onto the ground outside. A dehumidifier is an air-conditioner-like device that controls the humidity of a room or building. They are often employed in basements which have a higher relative humidity because of their lower temperature (and propensity for damp floors and walls). In food retailing establishments, large open chiller cabinets are highly effective at dehumidifying the internal air. Conversely, a humidifier increases the humidity of a building.

Air-conditioned buildings often have sealed windows, because open windows would disrupt the attempts of the HVAC system to maintain constant indoor air conditions.

A HVAC control system is a computerized control system for climate control in buildings. Stand alone control devices may be pneumatic or electronic. Some may have microprocessors, but to be considered a “control system” for the context of this article, computerized and networked are expected requirements. HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning. Often, these integrate fire, security, and lighting controls into one system. These systems typically use one or more central controllers to command and monitor the remote terminal unit controllers, and they communicate with one or more personal computers that are used as the operator interface. These control systems are typically used on large commercial and industrial buildings to allow central control of many HVAC units around the building(s).

A heat pump is a machine or device that moves heat from one location (the ‘source’) to another location (the ‘sink’ or ‘heat sink’) using mechanical work. Most heat pump technology moves heat from a low temperature heat source to a higher temperature heat sink.[1] Common examples are food refrigerators and freezers, air conditioners, and reversible-cycle heat pumps for providingthermal comfort.

Heat pumps can be thought of as a heat engine which is operating in reverse. One common type of heat pump works by exploiting the physical properties of an evaporating and condensing fluid known as a

refrigerant. In heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) applications, a heat pump normally refers to a vapor-compression refrigeration device that includes a reversing valve and optimizedheat exchangers so that the direction of heat flow may be reversed. Most commonly, heat pumps draw heat from the air or from the ground. Some air-source heat pumps do not work as well when temperatures fall below around ?5°C(23°F).

Types of heat pumps

The two main types of heat pumps are compression heat pumps and absorption heat pumps. Compression heat pumps always operate on mechanical energy (through electricity), while absorption heat pumps may also run on heat as an energy source (through electricity or burnable fuels).[6]

A number of sources have been used for the heat source for heating private and communal buildings [7].

air source heat pump (extracts heat from outside air)

air–air heat pump (transfers heat to inside air)

air–water heat pump (transfers heat to a tank of water)

geothermal heat pump (extracts heat from the ground or similar sources)

geothermal–air heat pump (transfers heat to inside air)

ground–air heat pump (ground as a source of heat)

rock–air heat pump (rock as a source of heat)

water–air heat pump (body of water as a source of heat)

geothermal–water heat pump (transfers heat to a tank of water)

ground–water heat pump (ground as a source of heat)

rock–water heat pump (rock as a source of heat)

water–water heat pump (body of water as a source of heat)

 What are Heat pumps/Air Conditioners?

Heat Pumps cum Air Conditioners create a comfortable living and working environment for your Homes, Offices, Shops and Businesses.

Heat pumps work as heaters in cold weather and automatically adjust as air conditioners when the space is hot.

Heat pumps are among the most efficient heating option on the market – Consumes Institute

A 6 star heat pump will use 1 KW of electricity to produce about 5 KW of heat – EECA

Modern air conditioners/ Heat pumps come with a variety of features and high tech sensors and filtration systems. Leading brands such as Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Daikin, Fujitsu, Toshiba etc. have some specific features developed by them. Specific features of leading brands of heat pumps:

Intelligent Eye detects your presence in room and if you leave the room for more than 20 minutes, the Heat pump/Air conditioner will go into econo mode of operation to save you the power.

Iron Freshener – Negative iron generator – creates feeling of freshness

High coefficient of performance – saving you power costs and most efficient operation

Inverter system – variable speed compressor to match the heating/cooling load and energy saving – constant temperature comfort

Positives

Warm, dry and comfortable

Heat pumps can provide a level of all-round comfort not easily obtained by plug-in electric heaters. They can quickly bring a room up to temperature and then maintain it.

Lower heating costs

If you install a heat pump and keep your home about as warm as you do now, you could save a considerable amount in heating costs. But some of our subscribers with heat pumps tell us they use their units to keep their homes warmer than before, so their heating bills haven’t dropped by much.

No gas charge

If you install a gas heater, you’ll have to pay a gas connection charge (often around $30 per month) all year round, for a heating appliance you use for a few months.

Cooling

A reverse-cycle heat pump is the only type of home heating system that can both heat and cool a room.

Dehumidifying

If you switch a heat pump into cooling mode, it will also dehumidify the air in your house. In heating mode, heat pumps warm the air but don’t dehumidify. Some units have a special dehumidifying mode, but this is designed for humid tropical climates and is not suitable for New Zealand winter conditions.

Air filtering

Many modern heat pumps incorporate a washable filter unit that removes dust and particles from the air. This could be an important feature for people with asthma and allergies. The filters need regular cleaning to keep the unit working at maximum efficiency. Some have a deodorising function as well.

House value

A heat pump installation may also add to your home’s resale value.

If you’re thinking about buying a heat pump, you need to consider the climate you live in and the features you require.

Climate

In areas with hot humid summers, good cooling performance may be important. If you live in a colder area, you’ll want a model that has good heating performance. Look for a model that claims to be able to operate at temperatures below the worst you’d expect.

When the outside unit of a heat pump detects ice, it will automatically de-ice and stop producing heat. This is most likely to occur as the air temperature approaches freezing (at below-zero temperatures all the water in the air will have frozen and formed frost or snow, so the unit should no longer ice up). This can happen to all heat pumps but some do a better job of cold-weather performance than others.

H2 output capacity

This shows the heat output capacity of the heat pump when

the air temperature is 2°C. The H2 output capacity really matters if you live in a colder area, especially where the night temperatures go below 5°C but don’t often dip below zero. If this is your climate, insist on being told what the H2 output capacity is.

The bigger the H2 output capacity the better. It’s optional to have H2 output capacity on energy labels, but we hope makers will adopt it. Where it’s available, we include it in our database of specifications.

If the H2 information can’t be supplied make sure your contract with the supplier says that you’ll get adequate heating during cold nights.

Features

Think about the features you particularly want in your heat pump. These may include:

     Automatic de-icing is vital if you live in a cold area – otherwise, in winter, the pump will stop providing heat because of frost build-up on the outdoor heat-exchanger coils. This is a standard feature on newer inverter models.

     A timer lets you switch the heat pump on and/or off automatically at certain times. However, there are big differences. A clock-based timer allows you to programme an actual “on” and “off” time, and the times you set remain active until they’re cancelled. A 7 (or more) day timer usually allows multiple on and off times.

     Sleep mode adjusts the temperature in several steps (up when cooling, down when heating) so that the system works less hard and more quietly when you’re sleeping. You can programme how long you want the sleep mode to operate.

     Airflow-control settings provide reduced airflow for quiet operation and/or extra-high airflow (may be called fast or jet operation). Ideally, you want your heat-pump/air-conditioner to have a big range of airflow settings. A high airflow will help distribute the air in a room more quickly – but the higher the airflow, the noisier and draughtier it is. So you want a low fan-setting that circulates the air but does so quietly, especially if you’re using the inside unit in your bedroom.

     Oscillating louvres allow the air to be distributed more evenly.

     Adjustable louvres can be pointed up for cool air and down for warm. Left and right adjustability helps direct air where it’s needed.

     Fan-only mode blows air without heating, cooling, or drying. This can provide adequate cooling at some times of the year, without the cost of running the heat pump.

     Restart delay is a protective feature that prevents the heat pump from starting up again too soon after being switched off.

 VENTILATION

Ventilating is the process of “changing” or replacing air in any space to control temperature or remove moisture, odors, smoke, heat, dust and airborne bacteria. Ventilation includes both the exchange of air to the outside as well as circulation of air within the building. It is one of the most important factors for maintaining acceptable indoor air quality in buildings. Methods for ventilating a building may be divided into mechanical/forced and natural types.[3] Ventilation is used to remove unpleasant smells and excessive moisture, introduce outside air, and to keep interior building air circulating, to prevent stagnation of the interior air.

Mechanical or forced ventilation

“Mechanical” or “forced” ventilation is used to control indoor air quality. Excess humidity, odors, and contaminants can often be controlled via dilution or replacement with outside air. However, in humid climates much energy is required to remove excess moisture from ventilation air.

Kitchens and bathrooms typically have mechanical exhaust to control odors and sometimes humidity. Factors in the design of such systems include the flow rate (which is a function of the fan speed and exhaust vent size) and noise level. If the ducting for the fans traverse unheated space (e.g., an attic), the ducting should be insulated as well to prevent condensation on the ducting. Direct drive fans are available for many applications, and can reduce maintenance needs.

Ceiling fans and table/floor fans circulate air within a room for the purpose of reducing the perceived temperature because of evaporation of perspiration on the skin of the occupants. Because hot air rises, ceiling fans may be used to keep a room warmer in the winter by circulating the warm stratified air from the ceiling to the floor. Ceiling fans do not provide ventilation as defined as the introduction of outside air.

Natural ventilation

Natural ventilation is the ventilation of a building with outside air without the use of a fan or other mechanical system. It can be achieved with operable windows or trickle vents when the spaces to ventilate are small and the architecture permits. In more complex systems warm air in the building can be allowed to rise and flow out upper openings to the outside (stack effect) thus forcing cool outside air to be drawn into the building naturally through openings in the lower areas. These systems use very little energy but care must be taken to ensure the occupants’ comfort. In warm or humid months, in many climates, maintaining thermal comfort via solely natural ventilation may not be possible so conventional air conditioning systems are used as backups. Air-sideeconomizers perform the same function as natural ventilation, but use mechanical systems’ fans, ducts, dampers, and control systems to introduce and distribute cool outdoor air when appropriate.

Enjoy the benefits of having a ventilation system in your home and improve your family’s health. When you ventilate your home with fresh air, you vastly improve the quality of the air that you and your family breathe. That’s got to be better for your health, especially when you consider that ventilating your home can eliminate:

      Excess moisture

Showers, cooking and people produce large quantities of around 10 to 12 litres of water per day for a typical household of two adults and two children! Too much moisture leads to condensation and the growth of mould, mildew and dust mites that can cause or aggravate allergic reactions and lung problems such as asthma. It also rots window sills, peels paint and shortens the life of furnishings.

      Common household chemicals and other air-borne pollutants

A ventilation system reduces air-borne chemicals such as those found in tobacco smoke, common household cleaners, and formaldehyde from furniture, carpet and building materials.

It also reduces contaminants such as dust and dust mites, pet dander and pollen, which can trigger asthma, allergies and other respiratory conditions.

      Combustion by-products

Potentially dangerous gases – such as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide – can be produced by fuel-burning heating equipment such as unflued gas heaters.

In summary, a reputable and reliable ventilation system will:

Control condensation

Improve security, safety and noise control

Rid your home of odours, relieve allergy symptoms and provide fresh, filtered air

Protect your home and lower ongoing maintenance.

 SUPERMAKET REFRIGERATION

ABSTRACT

Present supermarket refrigeration systems require very large refrigerant charges for their

operation and can consume as much 1-1.5 million kWh annually.  Several new approaches, such

as distributed, secondary loop, low-charge multiplex, and advanced self-contained refrigeration

systems, are available that utilize significantly less refrigerant.  Analyses show that if properly

designed and implemented, these advanced systems can reduce annual energy consumption by

over 10% and total equivalent warming impact (TEWI) by as much as 60%.  Integration of

refrigeration and store HVAC operation is also possible through use of heat pumps.  Analyses

show that integrating the refrigeration and HVAC functions in this manner can potentially

reduce combined operating costs by over 10%.  Field testing programs are underway to verify

the practicality of achieving these projected savings.

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Supermarkets are one of the most energy-intensive types of commercial buildings.

Significant energy is used to maintain chilled and frozen food in both product display cases and

storage refrigerators.  The refrigeration systems also produce a large amount of rejected heat that

can be recovered and used by heat pumps or other equipment to provide space and water heating

for store requirements.  Typical supermarkets with approximately 3700 – 5600 m2 of sales area

consume on the order of 2 – 3 million kWh annually for total store energy use.  One of the

largest uses of energy in supermarkets is for refrigeration.  Perishable products must be kept

refrigerated during display and for storage.  Typical energy consumption for supermarket

refrigeration is on the order of half of the store’s total.  Compressors and condensers account for

60-70% of refrigeration energy consumption.  The remainder is consumed by the display and

storage cooler fans, display case lighting, evaporator defrosting, and for anti-sweat heaters used

to prevent condensate from forming on doors and outside surfaces of display cases.

 COLD AND FREEZER STORAGE

The average household freezer is a silent slave. It operates year in and year out, requiring nothing other than a constant supply of electricity. Eventually, though it may need to be replaced. The following are a few considerations that will allow you to make an informed decision about its purchase.

To use this rule you first approximate how much ?frozen? food your family consumes in a six-week period. Then envision how much space those items would require if stacked on your kitchen counter. That will give you an idea of the physical size of freezer you require.

Lastly, don?t forget that the chest style freezer will require twice the floor space of an upright. This may be an important factor if you live in an apartment.

Although freezers are efficient consumers of electricity they will definitely increase your electrical bill.

An upright freezer consumes more electricity. This is because every time it is opened the cold air spills out onto the floor. Consequently, it runs more frequently. Also today?s uprights are often frost free, which by their nature consume much more electricity. So we have to pay for the advantage of not having to defrost it.

Chest freezers are more efficient consumers of electricity because the cold air lies inside even though the lid is lifted to access the contents. But, chest types are manual and will need to be shut down and defrosted once a year.

Are there ways to lower the electrical consumption of our freezers? Perhaps.

To lower electrical consumption some people only use their freezer seasonally. During summer and fall, when freshly grow food is available, they clean out the freezer and turn it off. It is started back up again for winter and spring usage. This practise is common with gardeners who primarily want to store their fall vegetables. Seniors also do this because getting out in the winter is more difficult. Therefore they use a freezer to reduce the number of trips to the grocery store.

Some websites are now suggesting a practice called freezer blocking to lower consumption. This entails filling any unused space in the freezer with blankets or boxes of insulation. The theory is that only the food area would be cooled because air circulation is being blocked off from unused sections. The smaller the space being cooled, the less the freezer should operate.

Others suggest filling unused space with containers of water. They would become frozen and act as a thermal media that in theory would lower the run time of the freezer. The jury is still out on these ideas. To me seems like an over reaction by people who bought too large a freezer in the first place.

Options required

Since most freezers are relegated to the basement they are not an appliance that needs to look pretty. Neither do most consumers feel a necessity for them to have many options. Most are simply regarded as large storage boxes where frozen foods are kept for later usage.

Recently though manufacturers they have been offering a few more options. Things such as frost free, built in alarms, digital temperature displays, push button controls, and quick freeze are now on the market.

All options on a freezer can serve a purpose but must be offset with the possibility of increased complexity. The more complex a device the more possibility of it breaking down. Plus, along with complexity usually comes increased cost.

One of the more unusual things you will see comes from Haier America. It is a chest style freezer with a pull out drawer at the bottom. The upper half is a basic chest freezer for long term storage. The lower half allows quick access via a drawer that slides out. The idea is that the drawer section is for items that need to be frozen ? but will be used within a few days.

Summing Up

Food preferences have changed significantly in the last decade. We are eating less beef and more poultry and vegetables. Consequently, consumers now store less than 50 pounds of beef at any time.

Twenty years ago freezers sold would average fifteen to twenty cubic feet. Today the most popular size for a freezer is seven to twelve cubic feet. Again a reflection upon the fact that more people are consuming fresh foods rather than frozen.

· Household freezers come in either a chest style or an upright style.

· If you are looking for convenience, then the upright freezer is for you. Obviously, its design allows you to get to the food easily. Simply reaching into an upright requires less flexibility than leaning into a chest freezer.

· Chest freezers tend to be more efficient to operate and consume less electricity.

· Chest freezers are usually manual and will need to be defrosted once per year. Many upright freezers though are self-defrosting. Check the Energuide sticker on a new freezer for a sense of which is better for your particular needs.

· If you expect to use the freezer for long-term storage a chest is better because they operate at a lower temperature than an upright. The following chart shows a basic comparison of the two types.

So it is time to finally make that choice of what to buy. Hopefully, some of the ideas above will help you make an informed decision. Remember to take a close look at the Energuide before purchasing. It offers a lot of information to help with an informed decision. But more on the Energuide in future issues.

Fridges and freezers

Current applications of refrigeration

Probably the most widely-used current applications of refrigeration are for the air-conditioning of private homes and public buildings, and the refrigeration of foodstuffs in homes, restaurants and large storage warehouses. The use of refrigerators in our kitchens for the storage of fruits and vegetables has allowed us to add fresh salads to our diets year round, and to store fish and meats safely for long periods

A refrigerator is one of the most important pieces of equipment in the kitchen for keeping foods safe. These electric units are so commonplace today, we forget a refrigerator was once little more than a box with a block of ice used to supply a rather undependable source of cold air. But we are instantly reminded of its importance to our daily lives when the power goes off or the unit fails, putting our food’s safety in jeopardy.

History of Refrigeration

In prehistoric times, man found that his game would last longer if stored in the coolness of a cave or packed in snow. He realized the cold temperatures would keep game for times when food was not available. Later, ice was harvested in the winter to be used in the summer. As man became more industrialized and mechanized, ice was harvested from lakes and rivers or manufactured, stored, and transported to many countries. Even today, ice is still manufactured for this use.

The intermediate stage in the history of cooling foods was to add chemicals like sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate to water causing the temperature to fall. Cooling wine via this method was recorded in 1550, as were the words “to refrigerate.” The evolution to mechanical refrigeration, a compressor with refrigerant, was a long, slow process and was introduced in the last quarter of the 19th century.

The science of refrigeration continues to evolve. In 1996, there was a change made in the type of refrigerant used to comply with the Regulatory Clean Air Act, Title 6. The old refrigerant known to most people as “freon,” a tradename, was replaced with HFC 134a, a new refrigerant less injurious to the ozone and still just as effective in keeping food cold. As

Importance of Refrigeration

Refrigeration slows bacterial growth. Bacteria exist everywhere in nature. They are in the soil, air, water, and the foods we eat. When they have nutrients (food), moisture, and favorable temperatures, they grow rapidly, increasing in numbers to the point where some types of bacteria can cause illness. Bacteria grow most rapidly in the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 °F, the “Danger Zone,” some doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. A refrigerator set at 40 °F or below will protect most foods.

After water heating, the fridge is the single biggest household electricity-user and the most expensive appliance in your home to run. [1]

A typical fridge-freezer uses around 500 kWh a year, and accounts for about 15% of an average household electricity bill. [1]

Thanks to continuous improvements in technology, modern fridges and freezers are a lot more energy efficient than models made 10 years ago. This can mean big savings on your electricity bill.

For example, a modern family fridge/freezer with a 3½ star energy rating label costs around $100 per year to run. A 10-year-old fridge of the same size could cost twice as much.

As the average age of a fridge/freezer in New Zealand homes is around 16 years, the savings made over the life of the new fridge/freezer can be as much as the initial purchase price.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that old fridge/freezers often work longer and harder to maintain the right temperature. This means they tend to be noisy and may not keep food cold enough.

Choosing a fridge and freezer

You can cut down on running costs by choosing the right fridge or freezer for your needs. It’s worth considering:

Size

Consider the number of people in your household, how often you shop and how often you entertain. Don’t buy a bigger fridge/freezer than you need. While it’s more efficient to run one large fridge/freezer than two small ones, it’s inefficient to run one that’s far bigger than you need. An over full or almost empty fridge/freezer has to work harder to stay cool.

Model

Fridge/freezers with the top and bottom configuration are often more energy efficient than a side-by-side arrangement.

Shape

Chest freezers are more efficient than upright models.  As cold air is heavier than warm air, it sits in the bottom of a chest freezer. With an upright freezer, cold air escapes every time you open the door. Upright freezers with enclosed drawers (not baskets) are a good compromise.

Water and ice dispensers

Through-the-door features such as cold water and drinks dispensers and ice-

makers use more electricity, so cost more to run.

Project coordinating and management

The overall progress of the project

Meeting of milestones and deliverables

Ensuring high quality of experimental and written output is achieved

Meeting the contractual obligations of the project in relation to reporting and financial matters and other issues that may arise

Overall planning of the project

Organisation, chairmanship and reporting of progress meetings and technical meetings

Maximising the dissemination activities of the project required to optimise its impact

Resolving any conflict that arises in the project, through discussions with the relevant parties and reference to the EC where necessary.

Management of workpackages

Responsibility for achieving the objectives of the Workpackages in the project will be shared between the project partners. The role of the Workpackage Managers will be to:

Plan and organise the work required

Ensure the work is progressing at the rate required to achieve the milestones and deliverables envisaged.

Ensure good communication between partners and industrial collaborators

Monitor the quality of field and experimental work and of written material

Carry out technical work as envisaged in the work packages

Provide written reports to the Project Co-ordinator as required

Task 1.1. Project coordination and management

Project management deals with all activities (administrative as well as scientific) needed for a smooth

execution of the project within the specified time frame. Overall management includes general

activities such as maintaining contact between partners, ensuring adequate flow of data, information

and developed tools, enhancing cooperation when needed, coordinating the preparation of field

activities, supervising their execution. The administrative issues of the project shall be dealt with in

compliance to the PPS Science Policy requirements and regulations, including periodic financial

reports and constant contacts with Science Policy officials.

1.1.1 Communication and reporting to SSTC/DWTC Science Policy

The project manager shall stay in contact with Science Policy for continuous reporting of the project‘s

progress, possible problems requesting the intervention of SSTC/DWTC officials and for the

submission of financial reports.

1.1.2 Quality control of deliverables before publication, review and evaluation of milestones

Milestones from each work-package shall be evaluated and reviewed if necessary, in agreement with

the consortium and Science Policy officials. These reviews shall be performed periodically, twice a year at least.

. Deliverables will be reviewed by the follow-up committee and the coordinator prior to

their release for dissemination. Quality control shall include 1) compliance to the project objectives, 2)

scientific evaluation of the deliverable quality and 3) determining the most adequate channels of

dissemination.

1.1.3. Ensure communication and dataflow between partners

It will be the responsibility of the coordinator to organize the project’s meetings and dataflow between

partners. Since each WP integrates the efforts and findings of more than one partner and various

disciplines, communication is of major importance. Basic communication will be consolidated through

plenary meetings, to be held twice a year. However, bilateral meetings will be considered, in order to

deal more efficiently with transient issues more efficiently.

 Service and maintenance (took this info from another companies website so will need to change it)

Planned Maintenance calls are proven to keep your system running with long term savings. A recent independent survey in the US showed that poor maintenance is the single biggest reason why many heating and air conditioning units fail to reach their design life. In a separate study, an individual studied 563 service calls from people with broken down systems and discovered that 324 of the calls could have been avoided if the equipment was properly maintained by having systematic maintenance calls through out the year.

It is estimated that having an ‘Energy Saving Agreement’ (ESA) will result in a 10%-20% saving in one’s electricity bill. The level of saving depends on the age and quality of your equipment.

Energy Saving Agreement:

Having an Energy Saving Agreement will:

reduce your electrical consumption

maintain equipment to high standards in accordance with manufacturers guidelines

maintain reports for the Environmental Health Officer to say that your equipment is in good working order – This report will also outline what parts are required to keep your equipment in optimum working order

will reduce the number of emergency breakdowns during peak times

contract customers get priority on service calls and 15% discount on parts

gives an opportunity to pre-empt equipment failures and hence budget accordingly

Remember a small problem that is not repaired can result in major problems.

We offer two different Energy Saving Agreements: Standard Energy Saving Agreement: This entitles you to a specific number of routine maintenance visits (usually two) to your equipment per year. Energy Saving plus Comprehensive Labour Agreement: This entitles you to the regular number of routine maintenance calls as agreed in the contract. The contract holder is also entitled to all labour charges on any service call outs through out the contract period.

Routine Maintenance

Air Conditioning Units:

Refrigeration Units:

Clean coil and filters, check and clean drain pipe, carry out leak tests on all mechanical joints, clean indoor and outdoor units, check evaporator and any other checks that may be necessary to ensure the correct working order of the unit.

Check cabinet for damage, check lights, door seals, fan belt, condenser, air flow, coil, temperature, clean all items, check all insulation and any other checks that may be required to specific units.

Benefits

  • Maintaining equipment protect your investment and the value of your system* Extended equipment life reduces ownership costs* Operating efficiency reduces energy consumption, which saves money* Reduced system downtime gives you more time to take care of your business

Most consumers have only a few concerns (other than price) when purchasing a freezer:

1  What size do I require?

2  How much electricity will it consume?

3  What (if any) options do I need?

Size

Size of course depends upon your needs. Generally though, most people purchase too large a freezer. They base their judgement upon perceived usages rather than real usage. Their reasoning is: We ?might? need a larger one in case there ?may be? a special at the grocery store on something. The reality though is that most freezers end up being operated only half full.

Also, remember that all frozen foods should be consumed within six weeks. Foods stored longer than that can become dehydrated no matter how well wrapped. As the moisture leaves the food both taste and nutritional value will be lowered. So anything stored longer than six weeks will probably end up being thrown out. As an example, how much ice cream have you thrown away because ice crystals started to form inside the package? That ice forming inside the package is dehydration at work.

Therefore, when trying to decide how big a freezer to purchase we suggest using what we call the ‘six week rule’.