20 december 2021

AKOCORE ADVANCE

The future of temperature control is here

Did you know that…

70% of the Total Cost of Ownership of a cold room with an average service life of 15 years depends on proper temperature control?

Did you know that…

The controller accounts for only 4% of the Total Cost of Acquisition of a cold room?

Did you know that…

15% of after-sales support is due to errors in the initial setup of the controller?

AKOCORE ADVANCE
It is the first comprehensive, adaptive, specific controller  for  cold  rooms  that  sets  a  breakthrough in the regulation of cold room stores.

AKOCORE ADVANCE optimises the operation of the cold room by actively working on four critical aspects:

1 Reduce maintenance costs as well as installation and commissioning times

2 Say goodbye to blocked evaporators due to ice buildup

3 Energy efficiency greater attention to product and installation protection

4 Evidence of the profits made through on-site and remote indicator logging

1- REDUCE MAINTENANCE COSTS AS WELL AS INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING TIMES

One of the common issues related to advanced control systems is the complexity of configuration, which often consists of setting over 50 parameters. This scenario often leads to errors at the commissioning stage, resulting in lengthy processes that must be carried out again within the following days, as fine-tuning is required on the first configuration, thus leading to several site visits.

AKO has designed the easiest setup wizard on the market, to optimally configure the controller by setting less than five parameters:

Initial setup (wizard)

When power is first supplied, the device enters the WIZARD  mode. The display flashes the message followed by 0 intermittently.

Step 1: Type of installation

Select the appropriate option according to the type of installation to be carried out and press SET. In the table below, various types of installations covered by the wizard are listed. Select the number to the left of the table that corresponds to the cold room type and press the SET key.

The available options are listed in the table below: 

ini Type of installation Parameters Scheme to be used
Cold regulation Pump Down Defrost Evaporator fans Pd o00 I00 I10 I11 I20 I21 d1 d7 F3
0 Demo mode: shows temperature on display but does not regulate temperature or activate relays.
1 Solenoid No Electric Yes 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 20 0 0 A
2 Solenoid + compressor Yes Electric Yes 1 1 2 7 1 0 0 20 0 0 B
3 Solenoid + compressor No Electric Yes 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 20 0 0 B
4 Solenoid No Air Yes 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 20 1 1 A
5 Solenoid + compressor Yes Air Yes 1 1 2 7 1 0 0 20 1 1 B
6 Solenoid + compressor No Air Yes 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 20 1 1 B
7 Solenoid + compressor Yes Hot gas Yes 1 1 2 7 1 9 1 5 2 0 C
8 Solenoid + compressor No Hot gas Yes 0 1 2 0 0 9 1 5 2 0 C
Step 2: Setting the Setpoint (Setpoint temperature)

Press ↑ y ↓ keys to enter the desired Set Point value and press SET.

Once the setup wizard has finished, the device starts regulating the temperature.

After these two initial steps, the cold room begins to operate, and we just have to fine-tune a couple more parameters:

The first one is “d4”, which sets the final defrost temperature, for which we recommend the following values:

  • For electric defrost d4 = between 8 and 12 ºC
  • For air defrost d4 = SP + 1 or 2 ºC
  • For Hot Gas Defrost d4 = between 20 and 30 ºC (although it needs to be checked depending on hot gas temperature)

Be sure the “d1” parameter (maximum defrost duration), is set to 30 minutes

The final parameter to adjust is “d30” which stands for what we call “Defrost Strategy”. Depending on cold room volume we recommend the values on the next table, taking into consideration the following:

  • Small C.R.: less than 20 m3
  • Large C.R.: 20 m3 or more

These features reduce subsequent system interventions by up to 15% (1), as well as commissioning time, drastically.

Electric

 

 

 

For small POSITIVE evaporators d30=4-5 (maximum)
For big POSITIVE evaporators d30=5-6 (maximum)
For small NEGATIVE evaporators d30=6-7 (maximum)
For big NEGATIVE evaporators d30=7-8 (maximum)
Air

 

 

 

For small POSITIVE evaporators d30=5-6 (maximum)
For big POSITIVE evaporators d30=6-7 (maximum)
For small NEGATIVE evaporators d30=7-8 (maximum)
For big NEGATIVE evaporators d30=7-8 (maximum)
Hot gas

 

 

 

For small POSITIVE evaporators d30=3-4 (maximum)
For big POSITIVE evaporators d30=4-5 (maximum)
For small NEGATIVE evaporators d30=4-5 (maximum)
For big NEGATIVE evaporators d30=5-6 (maximum)

The controller is configured after these few simple steps and optimally starts regulating the cold room. Additionally, AKOCORE ADVANCE is a self-adaptive controller that automatically adjusts its settings according to the use made of the cold room, constantly ensuring its optimum regulation and avoiding future interventions to adjust parameters, which are very common during the first weeks of operation.

2- SAY GOODBYE TO BLOCKED EVAPORATORS DUE TO ICE BUILDUP

AKO patented  the  SELF-DRIVE Ⓒ algorithm equipped in AKOCORE ADVANCE.

This algorithm constantly monitors the state of the evaporator coil, as well as the behaviour and use made of the cold room as a whole, deciding when to defrost and for how long, and ensuring that the evaporator coil is not blocked due to ice buildup.

Reducing the number and lenght of defrosts by up to 95% (2)

This drastic reduction in the number of defrosts not only significantly reduces power consumption but also achieves a much more stable cold room temperature, while reducing the thermal stress on the evaporator, a potential cause of refrigerant gas leaks.

3- ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND GREATER ATTENTION TO PRODUCT AND INSTALLATION PROTECTION

Reduction of Electricity Consumption up to 35% (2)

Improved Product Conservation due to longer time within Setpoint range, up to 15% (2)

The  SELF-DRIVE Ⓒ algorithm also efficiently regulates the operation of the evaporator fans, a factor that can reduce compressor activation time by up to 30% (2), by combining Free-Cooling, constant monitoring of the frost level in the evaporator, and the state of the refrigerant gas at the evaporator coil. This, together with a reduction in the number and length of defrosts mentioned above, achieves a total optimization of the cold room, which results in the following values:

Reduction of compressor activations by up to 30% (2), resulting in less mechanical stress and longer operational life of the installation, as well as a reduced risk of refrigerant gas leaks. 

4- EVIDENCE OF THE PROFITS MADE THROUGH ON-SITE AND REMOTE INDICATOR LOGGING

 

AKOCORE ADVANCE  can be easily connected to our Remote Monitoring and Management System AKONET.Cloud, offering a whole bunch of benefits and advanced features for refrigeration specialists, as it provides extensive information for the analysis and diagnosis of the installation, improving customer service and reducing operating costs thanks to the remote assistance.

The installer will have at any time and from any place, access to the installation’s activity report and log, with useful indicators to exactly know what’s happening and how the installation is being used. Some of the features are the following:

Continuous temperature data logging

% of within setpoint range, and optimization level

Live Mode, to remotely operate in real-time, and visualize the state of the inputs/outputs of the controller, alarms. etc…

Main KPIs visualization per day/week/month

Core Index (Integral Efficiency Indicator), and ranking by the level of optimization

                             

Temperature Time Integrator to identify product or risks or inefficient behaviour on the installation

Diary activity with maximum, minimum and average temperatures

% of the time within setpoint range per day

CONCLUSIONS

AKOCORE ADVANCE is ultimately the best option for proper cold room regulation that guarantees:

  • Perfect stored product conservation, thus minimizing the risk of  losses  or shrinking
  • Efficient use of energy that leads to significant savings in electricity consumption
  • Longer operational life for the installation and reduced risk of a refrigerant gas leak
  • Error-free programming and fewer after-sales support related to installation, with the cost this entails
  • Useful information for the management and diagnosis of the cold room, facilitating preventive maintenance work and improving customer service 

(1) Data obtained from a survey conducted among refrigeration installers

(2) Data obtained from real installations using AKOCORE ADVANCE