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A successful case of variable-capacity compressor management

In today’s rapidly developing business environment, the light commercial refrigeration sector is facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities. With increasing global attention to energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, high-efficiency refrigeration solutions have become a key driving force in the light commercial segment. 

The primary advantage of efficient refrigeration solutions is energy saving. Energy consumption and operating costs can be significantly reduced by adopting advanced refrigeration technology and equipment. These savings can translate into considerable economic benefits over the long term, bringing direct economic benefits to the enterprise. 

High-efficiency refrigeration solutions also can help reduce the impact on the environment. These solutions support businesses in achieving their sustainable development goals and responding to global calls for environmental protection by reducing energy consumption and emissions. 
As governments around the world increasingly demand stricter energy efficiency standards, efficient refrigeration solutions help businesses easily adapt to regulatory changes and avoid potential legal and financial risks arising from non-compliance with standards. 

Qingdao Hiron Commercial Cold Chain Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer specialising in commercial cold chain equipment, serving various applications such as cold drinks, cold food, beer, beverages, dairy, supermarket chains, convenience stores, and more. 
Its core products include frozen display cabinets and commercial refrigerating display cabinets, with a portfolio of over 100 products. With a strong commitment to innovation, quality, and sustainability, Hiron is a leading player in the field of professional commercial refrigeration cabinets. 
Manufacturers in commercial refrigeration typically produce a range of unit types, and for each unit type usually they need to provide different features to distinguish standard and premium lines. 

This is why to meet market requirements on energy consumption and environmental sustainability, the commercial equipment manufacturer from Shandong, China planned to develop a new generation chest freezer equipped with variable speed compressors and using R290 refrigerant. The manufacturer then chose an electronic controller with the VCC serial option as the control solution, due to its excellent energy performance and compliance with flammable refrigerants. 

The main benefits that an electronic controller with VCC serial mode can bring to the solution are: 

  • Highly efficiency and energy saving: the controller can maximise the performance of variable-capacity compressors, as it continuously determines the operating speed of the compressor based on the actual operating temperature. 
  • Optimised maintenance management: the controller can enable the VCC compressor to send operating data. The embedded BMS port connects to the IOT platform, which facilitates service and maintenance management. 
  • Food preservation and HACCP: PID control helps minimise temperature fluctuations. The integrated HACCP function prevents food damage and records logs in the event of power outages. 
  • Excellent performance in terms of low noise and vibrations: thanks to the soft start and advanced PID logic, the controller reduces compressor vibrations at start-up and in low load conditions, giving the cabinet higher performance in terms of noise reduction. 

The controller, based on cooling demand, sends the speed request to the inverter via a serial communication protocol. Communication is two-way: the controller sends the speed control signal to the inverter and can also get feedback (i.e. alarms). The controller, thanks to the embedded VCC serial port, features an advanced algorithm to manage this function.
After the real-life tests, keeping the same product storage quality, VCC serial mode management compared to fixed-speed and drop-in compressor operation showed the following improvements:

There was a 13% reduction comparing the ON/OFF compressor with VCC in Drop-In mode, as well as a further 14% in savings if the speed of the VCC compressor is directly managed by the electronic thermostat in serial mode.
The overall energy saving gained by VCC management in serial mode compared with the fixed-speed compressor is 25%. This saving, when applied to a chest freezer unit, which usually are large low temperature units with high energy consumption, can bring significant savings on the energy bill.
In addition, noise was reduced by 2dB and temperature fluctuations in the cabinet were less than 2°C, meaning the set point can be ensured while saving energy and preserving the same food quality.

The results of this case study confirm the growing importance of advanced control strategies in the light commercial refrigeration sector. As demonstrated, the use of the electronic thermostat with VCC serial speed control offers a reliable way to optimise compressor performance, enabling significant energy savings and improving temperature stability, thus providing better food preservation quality. These capabilities are especially valuable in a context where energy regulations are becoming more stringent and environmental concerns are shaping purchasing decisions.
In an evolving market driven by efficiency, sustainability, and digitalisation, solutions that can intelligently manage variable-capacity compressors represent a concrete step forward. This case illustrates how adopting such technologies can achieve the best energy savings from a variable-speed compressor, helping manufacturers comply with new regulations, reduce operating costs for the end user, and improve long-term sustainability outcomes.

 

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topic: REF topic: Supermarkets
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