Artificial intelligence has cut energy use in an industrial refrigeration system by 17% at a frozen food producer, according to Rockwell Automation and its technology partner Actemium.
The system, developed by Actemium and running on Rockwell’s PlantPAx distributed control system, continuously selects combinations of compressors, condensers and evaporators designed to maximise refrigeration efficiency.
The technology, known as Real-Time Coefficient of Performance (RtCOP), analyses equipment capacity, efficiency and environmental conditions in real time and automatically adjusts the system’s operating configuration.
Rockwell and Actemium said the deployment has reduced energy consumption by 17%, with estimated savings of $130,000 a year at each site. The companies also say the optimisation reduces strain on refrigeration equipment, potentially improving asset reliability.
Industrial refrigeration can account for a substantial share of electricity consumption in food manufacturing, making it an important target for energy efficiency measures. Systems are typically operated to meet cooling demand, rather than continuously optimising the combination of equipment being used.
Actemium said this is partly because human operators do not have the time or tools to continually assess changes in equipment performance and determine the most efficient configuration.
“Autonomous optimisation can help food producers conserve energy, reduce costs and ease demands on their workforce,” said Jim Gillis, general manager at Actemium Atlantic Canada.
The application runs on Rockwell’s PlantPAx modern distributed control system, which provides access to real-time plant data and the processing capabilities required for the continuous optimisation.
The deployment also highlights a growing use of AI in industrial control systems, where software can make operational decisions continuously rather than simply presenting data to human operators.
Rockwell said skills shortages in specialist areas such as industrial refrigeration are adding to the pressure on food producers to automate aspects of plant optimisation.
The companies are now helping the food producer expand the system across its refrigeration plants. KPI dashboards provide visibility of performance between sites and allow operators to benchmark refrigeration efficiency.
The project illustrates how AI-based optimisation can be applied to energy-intensive industrial processes without replacing the underlying control infrastructure.
