Commercial Bakeries Archives

Closed Loop Cooling for Electrical Enclosures in Commercial Bakeries

March 29, 2024/in Air Water Heat Exchangers, Commercial Bakeries

Solutions to Reduce Maintenance & Repair Costs

Electrical Enclosures and Enclosure Air Conditioners

Electrical enclosures and enclosure air conditioners often fall victim to flour damage in the make-up area of commercial bakeries. The “make-up area” is where dough is prepared by combining flour, moisture, and heat. When flour becomes wet due to ambient humidity levels, it forms a paste-like consistency. The build-up of flour and paste within the air conditioner leads to reduced performance and failure. Without proper cooling, the added stress and risk of failure for variable frequency drives and enclosure electronics can lead to costly repairs and downtime.

Many commercial bakeries still use air conditioners to cool electronics in the make-up area because they provide convenient closed-loop electronics cooling. But this solution is not sustainable due to high concentrations of particulates in the air, which eventually clog air conditioners such that they fail. However, opening the doors to the enclosure to provide needed cooling ultimately does more damage by compromising the NEMA 4/4X environment.

Electronics must receive proper cooling solutions. This is because they have a narrow “sweet spot” for cooling between 85 degrees and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Lower temperatures risk condensation which can lead to water forming on electronics, while higher temperatures can cause heat stress failure.

A Solution for Commercial Bakeries – Liquid Cooling

Instead of air conditioning, a superior solution for bakeries is liquid cooling, which eradicates heat from enclosures in an efficient and cost-effective capacity. Liquid cooling proves especially well adapted to hot, dirty environments where it removes heat from machines. This makes liquid cooling the ideal solution for the makeup area in commercial bakeries.

When one of the fastest growing independent, family-owned baking manufacturers in the U.S. sought to optimize their resources, they turned to Pfannenberg. Drawing upon its decades of experience and expertise, Pfannenberg suggested a liquid cooling solution.

Pfannenberg’s PWS Series Air-to-Water Heat Exchangers now provides this leading bakery with a trouble-free cooling solution for their electrical enclosures in the make-up area. This solution easily operates in dusty environments where moisture and flour fill the air. To cool the bakery’s electrical units, the solution also utilizes glycol or a cool water source that the factory already has available.

In addition to sustainable cooling, the bakery improved the cleanliness of their electrical cabinets with this product. This is because PWS Series Air-to-Water Heat Exchangers have no filters, which means no down time results from changing filters or having them become clogged. The products also improved the efficiency of the cooled air by providing a stable temperature that sustained cool air, unlike previous AC units that would get clogged with airborne particles.

PWS Series Air-to-Water Heat Exchangers

By implementing four PWS Series Air-to-Water Heat Exchangers in the make-up area, the bakery overcame problems plaguing their enclosed electronics and achieved energy savings by eliminating the need for compressors and tapping into existing water or glycol lines that run throughout the manufacturing facility. The bakery also reduced maintenance costs by removing the risks of clogging and preventing unwanted repairs.

By partnering with Pfannenberg, this bakery took its business to the next level, and now seeks to implement even more Pfannenberg products to augment its manufacturing process. With products and solutions designed to meet high quality requirements and operate in the harshest conditions, Pfannenberg continues to prove itself a leader in innovative industrial solutions.

Thermal Management Solution for Large Commercial Bakery

March 8, 2024/in Air Water Heat Exchangers, Commercial Bakeries

Supermarkets strive to craft fresh and unique baked goods to bolster their brands. Any downtime in the baking process can turn away customers at the door.

One of the largest commercial bakeries for supermarkets, which supplies 19 US states and parts of Canada, had repeated failures in its electric enclosures’ air conditioners, which were breaking down throughout its plants. To overcome this issue, the bakery sought a reliable thermal management solution that could function effectively in hot and dusty environments.

The search for the ideal solution brought the bakery to Pfannenberg, who conducted a plant survey to identify the central problem — many A/C units were undersized for ambient air temperature and heat loads generated for the enclosures. Increased temperature in the electrical cabinet during summer months reduced component life and overheated the enclosure.

A/C units on the electrical cabinets were typically part of the OEM equipment and not sized properly for the plant’s ambient conditions or the enclosures. This motivated the bakery to search for a cost-effective solution that could reduce downtime and cut energy costs.

Pfannenberg quickly saw that the problem could be solved with its PWS Series Air-Water Heat Exchanger. Effective at providing cooling in harsh environments, this product provided the perfect fit for electrical enclosures throughout the bakery’s facilities.

The cooling mechanism of the PWS Air-Water Heat Exchanger draws hot air from the enclosure into the top of the unit, then passes the air across the unit’s coil. When the heat leaves the coil, it cools the air. The cool air then continues moving out the bottom of the unit.

Because the unit has no refrigeration system, it did not require an external condenser air circuit. Ambient conditions also had no influence on how the air-to-water heat exchanger performs. Moreover, chilled water was already available in the bakery’s manufacturing plant, such that the Pfannenberg Air-Water Heat Exchanger achieved substantial energy savings while requiring little-to-no maintenance. No filters needed to be changed or cleaned.

After implementing the new product, the bakery saw a one-year return on investment (ROI) based on the total cost of ownership (TCO) for the bakery’s previous A/C units. On top of this, the bakery applied for energy rebates from their local utility to offset the investment, given that the payback period was less than 5 years.

Providing a complete, turnkey solution to thermal management, Pfannenberg empowered the leading bakery to slash costs in a sustainable fashion, reducing downtime to ensure the seamless flow of baked goods to its hungry customers.

Enclosure Cooling for Commercial Bakeries? Easy As Pie!

September 29, 2020/in Air Water Heat Exchangers, Commercial Bakeries, Food & Beverage, North America, Thermal Management

In today’s modern lifestyle, frozen foods have played a major role in providing convenience to customers. Pies – a family fall favorite, often take time that many families do not have. This is the time of the year where kids are back to school, parents are running all over doing drop-offs and pick-ups, rushing to work; taking the time to bake or make a full meal is often difficult. Large industrial bakeries can manufacture roughly 200,000 frozen pies a day. There is a high demand in this modern age for this aspect of convenience.

The two most important characteristics of creating a great tasting pie are the filling and the crust. For the filling, fruit is mixed with sugar, cinnamon, honey and other spices (depending on the type of filling) in a large sauce pan. Ingredients are heated and mixed to combine the flavors for the filling.

This process requires automation components such as VFDs in large electrical control panels to operate the system. Heat is a by-product of this process and Pfannenberg’s PWS Air to Water Heat Exchangers are ideal for cooling electrical components.

Pfannenberg’s Air Water Heat Exchangers utilize chilled water, that is readily available, and an internal fan to provide cooled air preventing critical electronics from overheating. These units are particularly adapted for harsh environments like bakeries when there’s flour everywhere.

These pies are then moved to the depositing machine, where the filling is then dropped into the pie sheets. The lid of crust is then placed on the filled fruit pie. These lids are mass produced and “forked” or sealed to give that touch as if it was just like our mothers or grandmothers homemade pie. These top crust lids help seal in the filling when the pie is being baked at home. Once sealed, the pies are moved to a blast freezer for rapid chilling.

Once chilled the pie is then moved to be packed and shipped off to local grocery stores.To make that flakey-buttery crust, shortening, flour, and other ingredients are mixed together in a large industrial mixer. When the dough is done being mixed, the dough is compressed into equal sized squares and dropped into baking pie sheets. Here, they move along the process and the dough squares are pressed down on the pie sheets to form the bottom crust layer.

The manufacturing processes of frozen pies are a delicate procedure. Temperature control of the equipment and the product is important to producing a flavorful, flakey, and scrumptious pie crust.

So what will it be? One slice or the entire pie? Ice cream or whipped cream? Next time you are enjoying a piece of pie, be sure to appreciate the process it takes to produce such a delicate indulgence!

Click Here to download the Bakery Air to Water PWS Case Study.

Reliable Enclosure Cooling for Commercial Bakeries

August 2, 2019/in Air Water Heat Exchangers, Chillers, Commercial Bakeries, Enclosure Cooling, Food & Beverage, liquid cooling, Thermal Management, Water Cooling

Customer Requirement

Pfannenberg worked with a bakery end user to develop a cooling solution for their control cabinets. Most of the OEM equipment installed in the bakery called for air conditioners to cool the drives. PLCs and additional electronics. Most times Cooling units can be a convenient and effective method for cooling electronics, except when located in dusty, humid areas within the plant.

These AC units failed regularly and had to be replaced. This was not a sustainable solution as the customer had constant issues with clogging coils and overheating panels.

Once a panel overheated they had to either: not operate the machine, or operate the cabinets with the doors open. This would let all the contaminants that were hurting the AC units into the cabinet, damaging the drives and other components.

The Pfannenberg Solution

To use the chilled Glycol that was already present for other machine processes to provide the cooled liquid source for our PWS Air to Water Heat Exchangers.

The solution included:

A reliable cooling solution designed for harsh environments
Reduced maintenance. Once installed the units only have just one moving part, so regular maintenance is not necessary
Eliminating equipment failures, means greater uptime
Reduced energy costs with the PWS units
UL Tested NEMA Type 4/4X – washdown

Customer Benefits

Pfanneneberg’s PWS Series Air To Water Heat Exchanger was the precise solution for the problems our customer experienced. Incorporating Air/Water Heat Exchangers improved performance, reduced maintenance, was energy efficient, and prevented unplanned repairs.

Pfannenberg’s New Nema Type 3R/4/4X Rainhoods

February 15, 2018/in Bottling and Canning, Commercial Bakeries, Filterfans, Food & Beverage, Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Rainhoods

Designed for use with standard Filterfans®, Pfannenberg’s new Rainhoods protect your application from Harsh environements like rain, water spray, snow or fluids from being drawn into the enclosure.

The New Rainhoods feature a robust design rated to NEMA TYPE 3R/4/4x and IPx6 when used with Pfannenberg Filterfans®. This product come in different sizes and is designed to be compatible with existing Pfannenberg Filterfans® and Exhaust Filters.

Product Features Includes:

Multi-Dam Seal Technology High compression, closed cell gasket w/multiple seal dams ensuring a proper NEMA Type / IP rating seal to the enclosure.	Easy Installation The mounting bracket can easily be installed to the enclosure around the existing cut-out.
Maximized Airflow & Superior Overspray Protection Direct spray barrier and high air-flow baffle allow for superior protection from overspray entering the cabinet while minimizing airflow loss.	NEMA Type 3R/4/4X / IPx6 Design This mounting system was designed to ensure a proper NEMA Type / IP rating and protection when used with Pfannenberg Filterfans® and exhaust filters.
Rugged Steel Construction Industrial version is available in powder coated RAL 7035 light grey galvanized steel, ANSI 61 dark grey, and 304 or 316 stainless steel cover design. Sanitary version is available in a stainless steel, FDA compatible white gasket design.	Easy Maintenance Our tool-less design allows for easy removal of the rainhood for maintenance and filter mat replacement. Tamper-proof options also available.

New Sanitary Rainhood

In addition to our standard painted and stainless steel designs, Pfannenberg also offers a specialty 4X stainless steel rainhood to meet the FDA compatible requirements found in Food & Beverage Manufacturing Facilities.

FDA Compatible White Gasket Design Our white gasket design is ideal for Rainhoods that are used on enclosures in Food & Beverage applications. This gasket allows for easy detection of any contamination and is free of potentially harmful color additives.	Easy Washdown and Disinfection With a smooth, clean and seamless design, Pfannenberg Rainhoods allow for easy washdown and disinfection. Direct spray barrier design allows for superior protection from overspray entering the cabinet while minimizing airflow loss.
Easy Maintenance Easily remove the rainhood for maintenance and filter mat replacement. The gasket will not be compromised due to it’s ultimate bond with high peel/shear resistance and excellent UV aging. Tool-less design comes standard, tamper-proof option available.	Robust Sealing Against Enclosure A primary design element found within our rainhoods is the robust sealing of our gasket. Our gasket features; multiple seal dams with a high compression ratio and dense closed cell material. This gasket found in both our regular and sanitary designs.

The Complete Solution that Meets UL 508A / UL 50E Requirements for Environmental rated Accessories for Enclosures.

Pfannenberg tested its Rainhoods and filterfans for NEMA 4/4X with and without the fan running which is a requirement in order to meet the UL 508A Environmental rated Accessories for Enclosures. This guarantee the high quality and superior performance that our customers expect from Pfannenberg.

UL Certification for Pfannenberg Rain Hoods:

UL508A – NITW2.E175229
UL508A / UL50E = FTTA.E489500

Don’t hesitate to consult E489500 UL Online Certification Directory for more information.

Closed Loop Liquid Cooling Reduces Downtime, Maintenance & Repair Costs for Commercial Bakeries

June 7, 2016/in Case Study, Commercial Bakeries, Food & Beverage, North America, Thermal Management

Pfannenberg’s Cooling Solutions Help Keep Equipment Running for One of the Fastest Growing Independent Wholesale Bakers in America.

Flour is one of the paramount enemies of electrical enclosures and enclosure air conditioners, particularly in the make-up area of a commercial bakery. Keeping the electronics cool which power the machines, is essential to the entire operation of the Schwebel Baking Company. Without the electrical enclosures staying cool, the machines fail and require replacement or downtime for repair.

Pfannenberg’s PWS Series Air To Water Heat Exchangers were an ideal solution for the Schwebel Baking Company, these Air/Water Heat Exchangers utilize glycol or a cool water source that is already available in the factory, to cool their electrical units. Pfannenberg’s Air To Water Heat Exchanger has no filters, which means there is no down time trying to change filters or having them becoming clogged.

By installing Pfannenberg’s Air To Water Heat Exchangers, Schwebel’s was able to see a significant difference in the cleanliness of their electrical cabinets as well as in the efficiency of the cooled air.

Pfannenberg’s PWS Series Air To Water Heat Exchangers were the precise solution for Schwebel’s manufacturing process. Incorporating closed loop cooling with Air To Water Heat Exchangers improved performance, reduced maintenance, was energy efficient, and prevented unplanned repairs.

Click Here to Download the Case Study in PDF