Reliable and stable operation

Food manufacturer replaces 29 HVAC-R units with one

FACTS

End user: Bel’Ardenne
Contractor: Pelzer Group
Segment: Food and beverage processing
Background: Replacement of old refrigeration and heating systems with a sustainable solution
Product: SteelXL
Specs: 1.08 MW MT, 65 kW LT, 0,8 MW HR

Bel’Ardenne, a Belgian producer of a wide range of deli meats and raw salted meats, has replaced its entire old HVAC-R system with a sustainable climate solution covering all cooling, freezing and heating needs in a single unit.

In addition to providing stable and reliable cooling and freezing for its meat products, the solution features 800 kW of heat recovery. The captured energy now covers all heating needs for critical processes such as drying and ageing of food as well as cleaning of equipment.

BelArdenne installation image

Challenges

Bel’Ardenne is dedicated to providing high-quality, tasty deli products to its customers and consumers, with the utmost respect for its partners as well as animal welfare and the planet.

As part of its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, Bel'Ardenne wanted to replace its refrigeration and heating installations – and at the same time:

Avoid loss of energy
Reduce CO₂ emissions
Maintain high food quality

Solution

The SteelXL climate solution has replaced Bel’Ardenne’s old cooling and condensing units as well as a boiler and electric heaters.

The excess heat from the cooling process is used for heating the building and cleaning, thereby minimising waste energy and eliminating the fossil-fuel boiler.

The solution includes several energy-saving options, such as:

Parallel compression
Permanent magnet motors
Ultra-Low Superheat

The new Advansor climate solution uses CO₂ (GWP = 1) and therefore has a minimal environmental impact.

Using CO₂ as a refrigerant is not only good for the environment but also ensures stable and precise temperatures for high food quality when drying, storing and freezing food, retaining the structure and weight of the food products.

The DX system reacts instantly to temperature changes while eliminating the need for glycol and, thereby, the risk of food contamination.

Results

The new Advansor climate solution in one single unit has replaced:

3 cooling racks of 73 kW MT and 35 kW LT
2 cooling racks of 177 kW
10 condensing units totalling 115 kW MT
12 condensing units totalling 407 kW
A pellet boiler for hot water and cleaning of process equipment (300 kW)
Electrical heaters for food processing equipment (600 kW)

This results in CO₂e savings of nearly 2 tonnes per year:

525 kg of R-407c → GWP 1774 → 931,350 kg of CO₂e

537 kg of R-449a → GWP 1397 → 750,189 kg of CO₂e