Energy Efficiency Case Study
Improved Chilled Water Capacity and Energy Efficiency for Cedar’s Foods
“I was overwhelmed with the excellence of their engineering solution.”
—Nick Scangas
General Manager
Cedar’s Mediterranean Foods
Project Overview
Cedar’s Foods, a manufacturer of a wide variety of middle eastern food products, wanted to improve its chilled water capacity for pasteurizers to meet factory output projections for branded and private label growth. Efficiency of the new chiller system was a primary concern in order for the company to take advantage of National Grid’s incentive program.
Solution
The new expansion brought the chiller requirements to 1,080,000 BTU per hour at 20°F. After conducting an energy audit, IMEC recommended the installation of a high efficiency water cooled chiller with closed evaporative cooling tower and variable speed pumps for the evaporator and condenser.
A value-added recommendation called for the installation of an energy recovery system off the new air compressor for their steam generation system. The recoverable energy of the air compressor package was designed to preheat the water makeup. This option enabled Cedars to reduce gas consumption and electrical costs. The heat recovery controls included converting the steam generator water make-up level control from batch to analog. The temperature of the fresh water makeup is monitored and flow regulated to absorb maximum heat with maximum temperature rise. The controls account for the variable demand for both compressed air and steam and insures that energy recovery is maximized.
Results
Implementation of IMEC’s solution resulted in annual gas and electrical savings of more than $52,000 per year. IMEC personnel managed the incentive process with National Grid and Cedar’s received $180,000 in utility rebates.
“I was overwhelmed with the excellence of their engineering solution. They have a smart reason for everything they do in the engineering process. Not only were we given a superior plan for increasing our cooling needs, but we also ended up saving a lot of energy that we hadn’t anticipated.
“A highlight of working with IMEC is how skillfully they manage all aspects of the project from start to finish. It was an incredible experience because I didn’t have to waste a lot of time being involved in the execution. When they needed me, they reached out.
“You might think such quality would cost a premium, but IMEC also offers surprisingly excellent value. I recommend them unequivocally, and my recommendations don’t come easily.”
Interested in More Information About How IMEC Can Save Improve Your Energy Efficiency?
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