Energy-efficient fans for refrigeration units in the supermarket

Reliable and suitable for natural refrigerants

In refrigerated counters, refrigerated shelves and bottle coolers in the commercial food sector, fans are operated with high duty cycle, which has a particularly great potential for energy savings. EBM-Papst offers efficient Ventilatorenkonzepte for use in the normal refrigeration and deep-cold areas.

The right fan for every application

For the installation in refrigerated and frozen furniture EBM-Papst offers modern Ventilatorenkonzepte, which are based on the very efficient electronic commutated EC-motor. Among several energy-efficient engine variants, the energy-saving engine (ESM) is especially predestined for use in refrigerated furniture. With an efficiency of up to 70%, it requires only one third of the power consumption of a comparable shaded pole motor. The compact EC motors are available as an OEM component for combination with a separate impeller as well as a Plug & Play complete system. While the axial series is intended for installation below the shelves, the fans with diagonal impeller were specially designed for installation in the rear wall of refrigerated shelves. Due to the extremely flat construction, these fans fit into narrow spaces and can also be adjusted with the higher counter-pressure in this installation situation. EBM-Papst offers the energy-saving NiQ engine for retrofitting older refrigeration units. This is mechanically compatible with the existing shaded pole motors and allows a simple 1:1 replacement by the same installation dimensions.

Does it really always have to be ATEX?

Another topic for refrigerated furniture is the refrigerant used. Since 1 January 2015, Regulation (EU) 517/2014, which is also known as the F-gas regulation, applies to this. As an environmentally-friendly alternative to (partially) halogenated refrigerants, natural refrigerants such as isobutane, propane and props are increasingly being implemented in addition to ammonia and CO2. The non-toxic hydrocarbons, however, form easily explosive mixtures with air in the incident.

The engines and complete systems of EBM-papst conform to the standard of the European standard EN 60335-2-89 (Household appliance standard – special requirements for commercial refrigeration appliances) in order to be able to offer a safe cooling solution in this area. This is completely sufficient for most refrigeration counters, as their cooling circuits meet the maximum of 150 g of refrigerants corresponding to the standard. In the case of refrigeration circuits with a large quantity, it may be useful to split the circuits. If not, EBM-Papst offers for refrigerant quantities over 150 g fans with energy-saving motor according to ATEX approval II 3g ex NA IIA t4 GC. These fans comply with the ATEX standard EN 60079 and can thus also be used for larger refrigeration counters, composite and cascade systems with more than 150 g of combustible refrigerant.