Refrigeration Electronics - Design, Develop & Manufacture

Tel: 0113 262 8280 - Fax: 0113 262 8298

Stonegate News

Stonegate opens the door to energy saving systems

Approximately 111m tonnes of the UK's 659m tonne carbon footprint is emitted by the food industry. Efforts to reduce CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions, adopt sustainable production practices, improve efficiency and save energy are strongly supported by the refrigeration industry. The refrigeration Door Open Alarm system, cold room temperature and moisture monitoring devices supplied by Stonegate Instruments, for example, are designed to enable supermarkets and other food retail outlets to demonstrate their commitment to the environment by reducing food and energy waste.

Refrigeration and air conditioning is used extensively all over the world and is responsible for over 10% of worldwide carbon emissions. To meet the challenge of sustainability, high-efficiency, low-carbon systems must be produced using material and technologies that preserve the planet's natural resources and safeguard the environment.

It was with this goal in mind that Stonegate Instruments, based in Leeds, developed its Door Open Alarm system for food industry refrigerators, the Cold Room Logger for temperature monitoring and the Transducer Trip Module to measure moisture content.

Stonegate Instruments refrigeration products are designed for use in supermarkets, other food retail outlets such as butchers and food storage depots, where cold rooms are used to store food. Over 4,000 supermarkets and the majority of larger stores have an average of five cold rooms, each with its own cooling and lighting facilities.

Stonegate Instruments Door Open Alarm system is a simple solution to the ever-increasing problem of refrigeration doors being left open for long periods of time causing wasted energy and food products to perish.

The Door Open Alarm system is a large and loud warning device using a flashing Xenon Beacon and up to two 100dB sounders, which when fitted to a cold room door provide both audible and visual warnings that the door has been left open for an extended amount of time. The alarm is designed to help Stonegate Instruments' customers avoid major energy loss, damage to merchandise and the associated costs caused by leaving refrigeration doors open.

Research carried out by Stonegate Instruments into the viability of door alarm systems featured the following monitoring statistics:

• The monitoring of one frozen food cold room for one week revealed that a total of 226 visits were made, with an average of 32 visits per day
• The maximum time the cold room door was left open was 53 minutes
• The maximum time between visits to the cold room was three hours
• The average time between visits was 17 minutes
• The door was open for more than 30 minutes five times a week

Clearly supporting the need for a Door Open Alarm system, the statistics demonstrate the high potential for energy waste that cold room doors can pose.

Demand for Stonegate Instruments' products is growing amongst supermarkets, wholesalers and contractors, both in the UK and abroad. A major fast-food chain has installed its Door Open Alarm devices in 500 outlets across the UK and recently placed an order for an additional 50 devices because they were so impressed with the product.

The Door Open Alarm system will also soon be made available to a wider audience. An alarm with a ramping sound is being developed for sound sensitive areas such as in hospitals, and Stonegate Instruments are currently working on a 'speaking' Door Open Alarm to give a more gentle warning in sound sensitive areas.

Stonegate Instruments' temperature monitoring and alarm systems also include large displays and Cold Room Loggers. Used for cold room temperature analysis, the data logger has inputs for measuring temperature, door contacts and current transducers. Data is stored at regular intervals to the memory ready for access by USB connection to laptops and can be retrieved at any time, ensuring that chilled food is always stored at the correct temperature and energy is not wasted.

Stonegate Instruments is planning to offer logging facilities on its temperature monitoring and alarm product ranges as well. In addition, it now produces a range of temperature controllers with energy saving potential for heat reclaim applications, where the ambient temperature is used for heating or comfort cooling.

In another bid to maintain system efficiency, save energy and reduce compressor failure, Stonegate Instruments have also developed a Transducer Trip Module that is used with moisture level transducers to monitor moisture content in refrigeration equipment which can cause system inefficiency and early refrigeration equipment failure.

Shaun Evers, Stonegate Instruments' managing director said: "All our refrigeration alarm systems are designed to reduce energy and food product waste and to help our customers increase efficiency and productivity, reduce operating costs and improve their reputations amongst staff, customers and the public as supporters of environmental initiatives to reduce carbon emissions."

Stonegate Instruments was established in the 1970s and is acknowledged as one of the UK's leading manufacturers of electronic equipment for the refrigeration industry. It was one of the first companies to develop glass door heater economisers and the first company to introduce electronic annunciators to the industry.

For further information on Stonegate Instruments email sales@stonegate-instruments.co.uk or telephone 0113 262 8280