A new application utilizing artificial intelligence capabilities could help cut the amount of energy used by frozen food processors in their refrigeration systems, its developers say.
Rockwell Automation said earlier this month that it deployed Actemium’s Real-Time Coefficient of Performance, or RtCOP, solution on its PlantPAx DCS control platform. The Actemium application, built for an unnamed “large producer” of frozen french fry products, enabled that food processor to increase its energy efficiency by 17% and realize some $130,000 in annual savings per site, the companies said.
The RtCOP system, officials said, analyzes conditions in real-time to identify and implement the optimal combinations of compressors, condensers and evaporators. They noted that industrial refrigeration can account for as much as 70% of a frozen food plant's electricity consumption, and that the solution could also ease strain on refrigeration equipment.
"Energy‑based equipment ranking that is performed continuously and consistently is something human operators simply can't do in real time,” Jim Gillis, the general manager of Actemium Atlantic Canada, said in a statement. “This solution has the potential to transform refrigeration across food manufacturing."
