Advanced Refrigeration Controls

Danfoss-based electronic refrigeration control systems engineered for food processing, storage, and distribution facilities — delivering safety, efficiency, and measurable energy savings.

Why Advanced Refrigeration Controls?

A large food processing or storage and distribution facility can be in the hundreds of thousands of square feet and have fifty or more rooftop refrigeration units — or a central refrigeration system providing cooling to fifty or more rooms containing millions of dollars of product — with energy costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.

Maintaining the proper operating temperature is critical for proper food handling and shelf life storage of the product. The refrigeration mechanical controls used over one hundred years ago cannot efficiently control the cooling process or monitor the equipment to be proactive when units require repair.

In the past, refrigeration service was determined when room temperature went high enough to be reported. With advanced electronic refrigeration controls interfaced with computers, alarms are generated before product is compromised and a costly repair is required.

Advanced refrigeration display case in commercial food storage

What Are Advanced Refrigeration Controls?

Energy Consulting Services, Inc. has been designing and installing advanced refrigeration control systems for over fourty years. We use Danfoss refrigeration controls and write algorithms to provide an unsurpassed level of safety and economical operation of refrigeration systems. We take the time to know your facility and how it operates to customize control parameters — reducing utility costs by taking advantage of time-of-day electric rates through dual temperature control algorithms and electric demand limiting through temperature or floating suction pressure reset, while still adhering to strict product temperature range limits.

We Provide

Electronic self-calibrating temperature sensors accurate to 0.1°F — preventing overcooling and its associated energy cost, or undercooling product and its loss of shelf life.
Computer algorithms that reset operating temperatures to take advantage of lower-cost time-of-day electric rates and use the product as "ice storage" during high electric rate periods — allowing some facilities to refrigerate at fifty cents on the dollar.
Computer algorithms to monitor and predict electric demand surges and adjust refrigeration within preset temperature ranges to level out and reduce the electric demand cost of the utility bill.
Electronic discharge pressure monitoring of refrigeration systems — enabling proactive cleaning of condensers and repair of condenser fan motors before a compressor safety holds it off or internal wiring is damaged due to overheating.
Electronic suction pressure monitoring to monitor, calculate, and control superheat.
Electronic expansion valves to maximize refrigeration capacity of evaporators, prevent liquid flood back causing damage to compressors, and reduce superheat — raising overall system efficiency up to 33%.
Electronic defrost initiation and termination through custom control algorithms and electronic temperature sensors that "see" the need for defrost — minimizing defrost cycles and the energy required to reheat and re-cool the space.
Computer control of refrigeration evaporator fans to prevent temperature stratification — saving kWh in fan motor run time, reducing refrigeration load, and lowering noise in the working environment.

See letters of recommendation in our References section and case studies in our Information section.

Utility Rebate Programs

Utility rebate programs provide incentive payment for advanced refrigeration systems. Custom programs, with the proper engineering documentation and submission, will buy the system cost down to one year or fifty percent of the system cost, whichever is less. Energy Consulting Services, Inc. has done this successfully for many clients with one recent client's rebate check totaling over $775,00. The Utility company, PSE&G, awarded us with the most innovative energy project of 2026.

Alternative Financing

Alternative off-balance-sheet financing, leasing, split savings, or performance contracting may be available to your facility.

Reducing Operating Costs Is an Overlooked Profit Center

The food wholesale industry operates on a 2% net margin. Reducing energy cost by $10,000 a month is equivalent to selling $6 million worth of product a year you did not have to buy, store, sell, or transport.

The food processing industry operates on a 6% net margin. Reducing energy cost by $10,000 a month is equivalent to selling $2 million worth of product a year you did not have to manufacture, store, or transport.