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Total Cost of Ownership
Cost trough out the entire life circle
While one person frowns, the other immediately nods in agreement. Within a few moments you will undoubtedly belong to the second group. The TCO gives your company a holistic view of the cost of owning materials throughout the entire lifecycle. It therefore not only looks at the initial purchase value, but also takes into account maintenance costs, energy efficiency, training for use or wear of parts.
For the refrigeration industry in particular, parameters such as ‘cooling costs’ or ‘use of residual heat’ are also involved. We selected some relevant points of interest for you.
CO2 versus NH3
You can already have a significant impact on the TCO in the first design phase. Which coolants your installation uses determines in the long term how much budget goes to maintenance and energy. Here you make a trade-off between the initial investment cost versus the subsequent return, which in both cases is higher for a cooling installation with ammonia (NH3) as a refrigerant.
Sabcobel experiences that the area of application brings a lot of wisdom in the choice of coolant. If you need medium to large cooling capacities at low temperatures, it is best to lean towards NH3. If, on the other hand, you have a rather small cooling capacity, CO2 beckons to limit your TCO. Especially if your installation generates high temperatures and heat recovery is desired, choosing CO2 is the only right choice.
Customized control
Every installation is different and requires unique control. The standard company settings make way for Sabcobel’s insights and parameters. We do this by means of a custom-built PLC (Programmable Logistic Controller), divided into Remote Input/Output (RIO) components and configurable controllers. It is the latter that control the entire cooling installation. Sabcobel can remotely monitor consumers such as motors, valves and pumps, but also read temperature sensors and pressure sensors.
If we determine, based on our data, that adjustment is necessary, we will immediately act accordingly. Thanks to our customer-oriented settings and close follow-up, your cooling installation will always strive for the highest achievable returns.
The placement of the installation can also influence the TCO. For example, choosing multiple decentralized RIO components will save on cable infrastructure, but may require more time/money to provide on-site service. A more centralized implementation will lead to faster operation, as technicians will be avoided from having to run from one component to another.
Maintenance contract
Parts can of course wear out. As soon as the installation comes into operation, we regularly carry out maintenance work. We do this on the basis of a maintenance contract between the customer and Sabcobel. The maintenance cost is of course part of the TCO, but this maintenance also has a positive impact on other aspects of the life cycle. Here too, the PLC prompts us to decide whether or not to carry out maintenance.
In that context, Sabcobel thinks in terms of a circular economy. Parts must be easy to dismantle, which keeps the cost of an intervention (and the impact on your installation) to a minimum. Furthermore, unlike our competitors, we are not tied to specific brands when choosing our suppliers and equipment. Only the most sustainable installations attract our attention.
Are you wondering when we last carried out maintenance or parameter checks or replaced parts? As a customer, you can find all this in the Climapulse customer portal. Transparency is an asset.
Energy audit
Sometimes the conclusion of a cost-benefit analysis regarding TCO is that the current installation is still quite OK, but the efficiency can be improved. That is why Sabcobel periodically carries out measurements to rebalance the energy balance of the installations.
Some possible suggestions for optimization
• Defrost or heat up with residual heat
• Use heating networks
• Use natural coolants (NH3, CO2)
• Use data from the PLC to run the installation more efficiently
• Peak saving: smooth out consumption peaks and save energy
With a potential saving of 5 % on the costs, such an audit is therefore not an unnecessary luxury.