Amsterdam, Netherlands: Brightec, which makes BlueSeal air curtains, is providing the results of its research in a series of articles on its website.
The articles include data from various tests the company has performed in collaboration with customers to explore some of their findings surrounding energy efficiency and cold chain management in vehicles.
The aim is to help companies better understand issues surrounding energy loss and how vehicles can benefit from an improved cold chain management. By sharing data from their experiments, it is Brightec’s hope that more companies can work towards sustainable models of transporting temperature-controlled goods.
“Brightec is first and foremost a team of energy-efficiency physicists with a mandate to reduce energy and diesel consumption in vehicles. Currently, many vehicles lack efficiency in controlling their diesel fuel use at great cost to both the operator and the environment as a whole. By greater understanding the science surrounding the causes of energy loss we can find solutions to better manage this.” says Hans Opdam, founder, Brightec.
The articles include findings from experiments examining how the cargo temperature is affected across multiple deliveries. As smaller refrigerated vehicles become increasingly prevalent on the market to ensure low volume/high frequency deliveries, Brightec explores the impact that this has on cooling equipment to restore the cargo temperature over the course of the day.
One of the articles looks into the tests performed by the Centre for Sustainable Energy use in Food chains at Brunel University in which they estimated that a saving of some 30% (for smaller box trucks) to as much as 45% (larger trailers) of cooling-energy used by the refrigeration unit is reached using BlueSeal air curtains as a climate barrier.
Other studies include understanding the scale of cooling fuel usage that occurs through ineffective cold chain management and how measures can be put in place to prevent energy loss. There is also a comparative study of PVC curtains and air curtains that explores how the different methods manage cargo temperature during delivery scenarios when repeatedly exposed to outside air.
BlueSeal units fit above a rear or side door and make minimal intrusion into load space. A recent innovation developed with French vehicle builder Lamberet) is an air curtain with integrated shutter-door.”
