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TEMPERATURE MANAGEMENT IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY
Food processing is a sector that demands
very high levels of efficiency to meet daily
production targets. Protection of Critical
Equipment
And productivity is a growing issue for
food production worldwide. The United
Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs expects the global population to
be in excess of 11 billion by 2100. That’s
more than twice what it was in 1990 and
so, preparing for tomorrow, there needs to
be an even keener focus on productivity to
make sure there’s enough food for everyone
to thrive. Enclosures protect sensitive electronic
and electrical items from the atmosphere
in which they’re installed, providing an
environment that allows them to function
as required and which prolongs their service
life.
It’s one reason why breakdowns of critical
control and automation equipment in food
produc-tion are such a cause for concern.
Not only are valuable resources redirected
away from more strategic, long term
activities, such as developing new processes,
but production lines can also be stopped.
The cost of the breakdown increases
dramatically if this is the case, as it includes
not only the cost of repairing or replacing
damaged components, but also the cost
of lost manufacturing time. Stopping one
line on which even the humblest of food
products is made can cost businesses tens of
thousands of pounds for every hour that it
doesn’t restart.
Maintaining an internal temperature within
required parameters is of fundamental
importance. This often requires an active
cooling solution because heat is trapped
inside enclosures designed to protect
against the ingress of solid objects and
water to a level appropriate for many
manufacturing facilities. This can be a
problem in particular for enclosures that are
suitable for washdown environments, which
protect equipment to an ingress protection
category of IP 69K. As the temperature
rises due to the summer months or random
heat waves throughout the year, internal
temperature parameters can be breached.
In turn, the life expectancy of the equipment
within the enclosures is reduced and the
probability of an unexpected system failure
increases drastically.
Care needs to be taken when selecting
climate control equipment to ensure it’s
suitably robust to handle the rigours of the
environment in which it’s situated.
Below are some key aspects to consider
when reviewing your climate control
solutions.
Is your solution the right one
for your environment?
The type of product being processed and/
or the location of the equipment on site
are likely to have a heavy influence on the
suitability of your climate control system.
1) Let’s consider the ambient temperature
of your facility. If it remains lower, through-
out the entire year, than the desired
temperature inside the enclosure then
fan-and-filter units and air-to-air heat
exchangers can be very effective. They use
ambient air to remove heat energy from
the enclosure and dissipate it into the local
environment.
If the ambient temperature rises above the
required internal temperature then units
with active cooling circuits must be used.
Wall/roof-mounted cooling units use refrig-
erant as an intermediate medium to remove
the excess heat from enclosures, trans-
ferring it to the surrounding ambient air, and
maintain the desired conditions.
Enclosure Cooling
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ENCLOSURES
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