Vacuum Sealing Machines for Foodservice Applications

Field evaluation of vacuum sealing/packaging machines of 3 sites for use in supermarkets. Rather than leaving the heating element on continuously, the new unit activates the heating element used to seal packages only when the machine is in use. Same technology as was tesed in ET10CE1450.

Southern California Edison (SCE) and SCE’s Foodservice Technology Center (FTC) conducted a field study to evaluate and compare the energy savings and demand reduction potential between the baseline package sealers currently used in supermarkets, and the new, ondemand package sealers. The current, conventional package sealer uses a heating bar to cut the wrapping film on contact, and a larger heating element to make the film stick. These heating elements are rated at approximately 50 watts (W) and 0.55 kilowatts (kW) respectively, and have a constant temperature of 280°F. The new, on-demand package sealer uses similar two-bar heating system, but is rated at approximately 2kW. While the functionality of both sealers is the same, there are two different types of controllers for the on-demand package sealers: -A mechanical system that uses applied pressure to engage a switch that activates the 2kW heating element until the switch is disengaged, or for a maximum of 3 seconds. -An optical eye in the center of the large heating element that detects that a package is on the heating element, and then activates the heating element until it is removed, or for a maximum of three seconds. SCE selected four supermarkets and installed data loggers between the package sealer plug and the outlet servicing each package sealer. SCE monitored energy consumption for six weeks. Table 1 displays the power demand, demand reduction, total energy consumption, and energy savings derived from this study for the conventional package sealer and new ondemand package sealer. Note that while the on-demand unit has a larger heating element (approximately 1.5 kW larger) relative to the baseline, demand was determined by the average power draw during the peak hours between 2PM and 5PM.   Based on these findings, the use of the new on-demand package sealers in supermarkets nationwide has the potential to drastically reduce power demand and energy consumption. Installing 2.25 on-demand package sealers per store at the estimated 860 supermarket stores within SCE’s service territory can potentially reduce power demand and energy consumption by approximately 406 kW and 2,697,000 kWh annually. SCE’s EP and FTC team recommend that all supermarkets install the new on-demand package sealers in their stores.