About the authorAmmonia Refrigeration Operating Cost
When you try to evaluate the cost of operation what do you look for? The total of the monthly utility bill, the cost of energy, or something else? Utility charges are based on rate tariffs. These are the prescribed methods for billing users for the electricity and natural gas they consume.
Rate tariif’s for electricity are often classified by the potential range of energy used. Industrial, commercial, or residential. For our purposes we are typically interested in the industrial classifications.
The tariffs are often segregated into ON-Peak and OFF-Peak durations. In these two categories the utility informs you how much they will charge for electricity. The tariffs will also stipulate the time periods when these occur.
This can be further complicated by two additional terms: energy (kWh) and demand (kW). Therefore during an ON-Peak period you can expect to pay for energy and demand at an increased rate. This can be an expensive time to operate a refrigeration system. During the OFF-Peak period the energy and demand charges are usually considerably less expensive.
Becoming aware of this it might behoove you to investigate your refrigeration system operation. For example, can you operate your system more during the evening in the OFF-Peak period? Doing so can dramatically reduce your monthly utility charges.
On the other hand, if your operation occurs strictly during the ON-Peak period you can expect to pay the higher rates.
By investigating your electrical rate tariffs you can uncover the opportunities within it to see if these can be exploited to your benefit.
If you would like some assistance with this, please contact us.
Tags: cold storage warehouse, energy conservation, energy reduction, food processing
