The Client –
Leading energy technology provider
The Challenge –
Cooling for R&D project
The Solution –
Aqua EcoPro Free Cooling Chiller + Aqua Proactive Remote Monitoring
Research & development initiatives often face challenges, not least of all the need for robust temperature control and close monitoring throughout. Aqua helped an energy technology company maximise the reliability, efficiency, and success rate of their latest product development trial with an innovative chiller & remote monitoring package.
Situation
As a business centred around green energy and a strong drive towards Net Zero, our client was very conscious of their energy use from the outset. Whilst their manufacturing process required cooling, they were only too aware that a chiller would be a big energy drain and at odds with their corporate aims.
In addition, the R&D scenario itself can be particularly energy hungry. For example, load is likely to fluctuate, there will be lots of variables and things are likely to need constantly tweaking as the project moves along. In a proper, full manufacturing scenario, the load tends to be more consistent as it’s a steady and predictable process.
We needed to achieve a fine balance between allowing our client’s R&D team to work as efficiently as possible, whilst maintaining reliable temperature control.
Solution
After a site visit to fully understand the site set up and project goals, we supplied and installed a free cooling chiller, connected directly to the client’s R&D facility.
Our EcoPro chillers have an in-built free cooling coil, resulting in a fully packaged unit. Free cooling dramatically reduces energy consumption and operating costs, with annual energy savings often in excess of 80%. Our EcoPro units also operate on low GWP, boosting their green credentials even further.
The benefit of free cooling is that natural air is utilised, whenever the ambient temperature allows, rather than energy intensive mechanical cooling.
To refine things further, we pre-fitted our Aqua Proactive remote monitoring technology to the unit at build stage. The cloud based system monitors 300 variables and logs data every 10 seconds. This enabled our Service team – and the client – to have eyes and ears on the chiller at all times, without having to be physically on site. As the project progressed, the team could fine tune the controls to ensure the chiller was performing at maximum efficiency.
Results
The remote monitoring system significantly reduced the time our team needed to be on site after commissioning the chiller, therefore cutting overall costs. They could view the system remotely, review live data and adjust the set up accordingly. They also had a wealth of data at their fingertips to identify trends and potential areas for improvements which helped maximise efficiencies and helped the R&D team with their decision making.
“Longer term the real time monitoring will add further benefits” explains Aqua’s National Service Manager, Pete.
“If the system stops operating as it should, for any reason, it’ll trigger an alarm. One of the team will react to that, log on and identify the problem. If it can’t be easily resolved, we’ll have an engineer despatched to site before the client even knows there’s a potential issue. That’s great peace of mind for minimal outlay!”
For more information on free cooling and/or remote monitoring, chat with the team on 0330 822 3978.
