Optimization of Industrial Refrigeration Plants: Including a Case Study at Stonyfield Farm Yogurt

Industrial refrigeration can be found in many types of applications ranging from ice making to food processing to product preservation. Industrial refrigeration typically represents one of the largest loads in a facility whenever required for manufacturing processes. A refrigeration system is made up of different components including compressors, evaporators, condensers and controls. Each component may be from a different manufacturer in custom engineered systems, or equipment may come as an integral packaged unit. Custom systems are generally an assembly of components that have been tested and rated individually under design operating conditions but not necessarily rated as an integral, coordinated system. Therefore, in the assembled refrigeration plant, there is a possibility that the individual components may not provide optimum operation based on the deviation between the actual operating conditions and the test conditions as well as the interactions between the different components in the system. Consequently, the final refrigeration plant may not operate optimally, resulting in lower operating efficiency and higher operating costs.