SELF-CONTAINED SPIRAL & CONTINUOUS COOLER ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL SYSTEM

Several years ago Air Management Technologies was contacted to provide an environmental control system to condition a room that housed three (3) spiral bread coolers. It could have been considered a fairly straight forward project but at Air Management we pride ourselves on innovation and value, so we explored what could be done to not only meet product temperature requirements but also address other key elements, which included consistency, protection from molds, sanitation, product quality, energy efficiency and ease of maintenance. 

ENGINEERING & INSTALLATION 
Engineering and installation of the cooler environmental systems is accomplished by providing a custom roof-mounted air handling system that maintains a constant discharge air temperature regardless of outdoor or plant ambient conditions. Supply air is distributed through air ducting typically around three sides of the cooler providing an invisible air curtain which allows the use of this system even when it can’t be enclosed in a room. When mechanical cooling is required typically at outside air temperatures above 70ºF, a refrigeration condensing unit or remote utility (ammonia, chilled water) is provided and coupled to an evaporator to maintain proper temperature and humidity control. 

Exhaust air is pulled from the center of the cooler which is the warmest and most humid location and can be exhausted, re-circulated or mixed with outdoor air depending on the mode of operation and room pressurization requirements. This operational mode allows discharging of excessive humidity in the summer when not desired and reclaiming of humidity in winter months to minimize product drying.  Each unit is equipped with medium efficiency air filtration that removes over 90% of ambient mold spores providing decreased product exposure in comparison with other cooler designs. Systems also incorporate a direct digital controller that maintains control functions and with a phone line or web interface a direct link to our office for system monitoring. 

ENERGY SAVINGS 
Our spiral cooler environmental systems use less than a third of energy required for traditional coolers using refrigeration based systems that re-circulate air and are so efficient that many times we can replace existing systems with a payback in less than 5-years. 

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS 
Environmental impacts now and in the future are a major consideration as we all commit to managing air and water quality and implementing our cooler environmental conditioning design concept is a positive step by conserving energy and eliminating several hundred tons of Greenhouse Gas emissions per year. 

CONCLUSION 
Considering all the benefits of a self-contained spiral cooling system it is hard to imagine ever constructing a bakery without implementing this technology. New installations in most cases will pay for themselves quickly when their premium if any is compared against a “standard system” and there is also ample opportunity to retrofit existing plants with typical returns ranging from 15-25%. 

Scott G. Houtz is President of Air Management Technologies, Inc. a mechanical design-build contracting and energy consulting firm located in Lewisburg, PA. E-mail him at scott.houtz@airmanagement.com.