Technology Assessment: Energy Savings in Refrigerated Walk-In Boxes

The purpose of this technical brief is to provide an overview of the results of an assessment of a technique for saving energy in refrigerated walk-in coolers, and to evaluate the potential for this technology in Federal facilities. The focus of this study was on a single manufacturer of the technology, Nevada Energy Control Systems, Inc. (Necsi); no other vendors for this technology could be found. Previous studies were inconclusive about the overall efficacy of this technique due to uncertainties in a number of areas. [1] Previous evaluations also lacked the benefit of the results from recent manufacturer sponsored tests and did not address some fundamental issues about the overall efficacy of this technology that are critical to understanding its potential. The primary objective of this assessment was to determine if the previous studies combined with recent vendor sponsored test results substantiate the manufacturer's claims that this is a cost effective energy saving technique with significant potential in Federal facilities. Secondary objectives included evaluation of intangible benefits such as equipment life and reliability issues, and humidity and airflow effects on product.