Do you need more cooling capacity, but do you not receive an extra electricity connection from the grid operator? Henk Tebben, storage specialist at Equans Refrigeration, explains why grid congestion does not necessarily have to be an obstacle.
While we need more and more electricity, we also generate more wind and solar energy. Although this is excellent from a sustainability perspective, this mismatch of supply and demand in electricity poses new challenges. The electricity network is overloaded in many places. Yet grid congestion, as the traffic jam on the electricity network is called, does not have to be an obstacle for arable farmers or contract coolers who want to expand their cooling capacity, says Tebben.
More return
"You can also create more cooling capacity without a new electrical connection," he says. "Do you want to build a second storage warehouse in addition to your storage facility with outdoor air cooling? Investing in a sustainable cooling installation with a higher efficiency creates a win-win situation. You achieve twice as much cooling capacity and are also rewarded for sustainability with the Energy Investment Allowance (EIA)."
"The higher the efficiency of the installation, expressed in coefficient of performance (COP), the more energy efficient. Conventional cooling installations generate 1 kilowatts of energy (cold and/or heat) from 3 kilowatt of electricity. A high-efficiency cooling installation can produce 1 kilowatts of electricity from 6 kilowatt of electricity. achieve up to XNUMX kilowatts of cooling capacity. This allows you to double the cooling capacity. The second storage shed is then feasible without a new main electrical connection."
Manage energy better
At the same time, a new cooling installation can replace an existing pressure wall. "With better technology and the right design, it is possible to get as much air and pressure through the products as with a pressure wall. This easily saves 2 to 4 kilowatts per fan. You can use this power to increase the cooling capacity. expanding," says Tebben.
To prevent the peak load from being exceeded and companies from ending up with a higher energy rate, it is possible to apply energy management. This technology divides the cooling demand in the storage into zones and distributes the available cooling capacity proportionately. "If the sun is on the left side of the storage area, the cooling needs are mainly in that zone. An energy management system ensures that the most cooling capacity goes there. And it prevents you from exceeding the peak load and having to pay more for electricity."
Combining energy flows
The final reason why grid congestion does not have to be an obstacle to more power is energy transition. Tebben: "With the right system you can combine different types of energy flows. In addition to cooling, do you also have a washer, drying wall or heating? Then immediately use the residual flow of energy that is released for something else. With a condensation drying installation, for example, the energy released during drying is immediately used to prepare the air in a cell to absorb moisture. This is how you can drying onions with the energy from the onions themselves. And create more possibilities despite less connected capacity."
Read more about Equans sustainable cooling technology as a solution for grid congestion