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Decreasing electricity bills at Atherton Supa IGA

Atherton Supa IGA became the first supermarket installation of the new, highly efficient AC AxiBlade fans in Australia

Store summary more

Atherton Supa IGA is a 2800m2 store built in 2009, located in picturesque Far North Queensland. In 2011, store owner, Mike Shakes was awarded the highest possible distinction for his store: IGA Australia International Retailer of the Year, and has since continued to receive accolades and awards every year. Mike’s focus on quality and innovation made Atherton Supa IGA the ideal candidate to trial the new ebm-papst AC AxiBlade on the store’s aircooled condensers. As a result, Atherton Supa IGA became the first supermarket in Australia and one of the first installations internationally to benefit from the latest development in fan efficiency.

Located on the Atherton Tablelands, a 90-minute drive inland from Cairns, the store is located perfectly to demonstrate power saving technologies due to its size, busy trade, complete retail offer, and tropical climate.

Evaluating the fans

The selected condenser has 6 fans in two banks which service separate refrigeration circuits. The input power to 3 fans in one bank was monitored for one week before and after the upgrade.

Easy installation

In less than 30 minutes per unit, the new AxiBlade fans were installed. No changes were made to the electrical components or structural design of the condensers, making the installation a simple task.

Cost comparison

The cost difference between a comparable, conventional AC-6 pole fan to the new AxiBlade is negligible. With the installation of AxiBlade, Atherton IGA experienced energy savings of between 38% and 43% across all 3 fans.

Recommendations

Because of the different running hours per fan each year, the savings vary dependent on which fan is replaced. It was recommended that at least fans 1 and 2 on each condenser are replaced with AxiBlade. Failing fans and fans with high operational loads are optimal opportunities to install new AxiBlade fans.

Next steps

Contact our dedicated sales manager, Thomas Heine, to discuss what fan solution is best for your circumstances.

Phone: 0437 542 626

Email: thomas.heine@au.ebmpapst.com