Zirkle Fruit Recognized For Energy Efficiency
November 19, 2012 Zirkle Fruit has saved enough energy to power about 300 homes for a whole year after the Prosser, WA, plant switched to different cooling fans and made other changes at its organic apple plant. The fruit packer was recently recognized by the Benton Power and Utility Department and the Bonneville Power Administration’s Energy Smart Industrial program for steps it took to save about 3.5 million kilowatt-hours a year.
Variable fans represented two-thirds of the company’s energy savings, said John Whitchurch, Energy Smart Industrial partner manager. Among the other improvements was the decommissioning of an aging engine room, improving a more modern engine room, and replacing two air compressor systems with variable-speed systems. They also changed the lighting in offices. In all, Zirkle Fruit was able to reduce its energy consumption by 35%, a significant amount for a user of its size.
The 70-acre facility packs more than 100,000 bins of organic apples a year, said Dave Copeland, operations manager. Each bin holds about 900 pounds of apples. The Prosser facility employs about 360 people.
The variable-speed fans in the cold room mean the fans will run faster at first to bring the apples down to 34°F degrees for most varieties, or 38°F for the more sensitive Honeycrisp apples. Once the temperature is reached, the fans slow and maintain that temperature.
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