Commercial condensing units from J & E Hall are playing a key role in cutting power bills for a cold store servicing the John Koch shop at Billingsgate Fish Market in London. Fish wholesaler Seatek (UK), the owners of the new purpose-built cold store at the shop, report that the savings made in energy costs have been dramatic since the refrigeration system was introduced at the back end of last year. In the shadow of Canary Wharf, fish and seafood from all parts of the world arrive at Seatek’s cold store, situated opposite the entrance to the market, to be picked and transported to customers across the UK, as well as to their shop in the world renowned Billingsgate Fish Market.
The decision to build the new cold store was made on economic, health and safety, and food quality grounds, as Seatek operations’ director Steve Burden explained: “When I took on this job this work was handled by smaller, portable cold storage units on the main Billingsgate Market. First and foremost, building the new cold store was to consolidate the site operation to make it more efficient.”
Seatek, one of the wholesale distribution divisions of the British Seaford Group of Companies, has a high volume product turn-around. Fish is kept at a temperature of minus 20oC. Cold stores can be power hungry and Seatek was looking for an efficient system to save money and maintain the perfect temperature environment. Steve Burden said: “The minimum temperature you can store frozen products at is minus 18oC, giving you the optimum shelf life for product quality. We wanted it to be that little bit cooler because the operating doors are open for a fair amount of time during a shift and it is important to maintain that optimum product quality.”
The J & E Hall condensing units were supplied by AFR Refrigeration of Wandsworth, South London. Four J & E Hall 0825-L-3 outdoor units were used and during low running periods, at night-time for instance, the Halls’ units allow half the system to shut down – saving 50 per cent in energy costs.
Steve Burden is delighted: “In making these changes we have been able to maintain the same spend on power as we have had in the last two years. The savings we have been able to make from the main store are also already paying for this new cold store. Without it our power bills would be much higher. It’s something to be proud of.”
