MCI video touts benefits of automatic ventilation

A new video from Maersk Container Industry (MCI) describes easy steps for cargo owners and shipping lines to benefit from automatic ventilation in refrigerated containers.

Traditionally, shippers have manually set their reefer ventilation on “open” air exchange, but this old habit incurs unnecessary energy costs and may damage the cargo’s fruit or vegetables.

MCI’s solution is its automatic ventilation system, AV+. A brief video now shows how easy it is to operate and benefit.

AV+ can limit the damage caused by overventilation on a number of counts, for example as ambient humid air condensates into water and frost inside the reefer unit. Another problem occurs when excessive amounts of ambient air needs to be either cooled or heated. This results in a high level of energy consumption. If the entering air needs heating or cooling, the consequence may also be dehydration and loss of weight or quality in the cargo.

Moreover, AV+ prevents excessive intake of gases that affect the cargo’s natural respiration. If a reefer vent is continuously open near a vehicle or power generator, unwanted CO2 or ethylene may enter and disturb the natural processes of fruit and produce. As many reefer units transit through a variety of ambient air situations, from loading to discharge, the cargo is exposed to a variety of different risks caused by excessive intake of air from the surroundings.

In virtually all cases, too much energy is used.

“Operators go by old habits. As the saying goes: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. This is true as current practices seem to work, but old habits can in some cases prevent progress when affordable technology becomes available,” said Anders G Holm of MCI sales and marketing.

Before going public with the new video, MCI live-tested AV+ with Crowley (tomatoes), Chiquita (bananas), and CMA-CGM (bananas), yielding demonstrable energy savings of between 10% and 25%.

For 100,000 reefer shipments with an average transit time of 20 days, this equates to a $3 million saving. Currently, MCI’s AV+ costs about a quarter of similar options on the market.

Calculating automatic air exchange can be complex, but Star Cool AV+ is as simple to operate as a normal temperature setting.

See the new AV+ animation at these online locations:

•MCI website—www.mcicontainers.com/Products/ReeferMachines/Pages/AV+.aspx

•YouTube—http://youtu.be/N3ZZKKMjZPM

•Vimeo—http://vimeo.com/64384466