Isla Frio’s cold storage facility, in Cidra on the island of Puerto Rico, was well prepared with a back-up generator and fully charged Thermal Energy Storage (TES) when Hurricane Fiona made landfall on Sunday, September 18th. The island was overwhelmed by historic amounts of rainfall, ranging from 6 to 20 inches, with some areas receiving over 3 feet of rain from the storm. As the days progressed, Hurricane Fiona strengthened and left the entire island without power. Fortunately, the resilient combination of TES and back up generation allowed Isla Frio to maintain their required safe temperatures throughout the storm – and for days longer than other facilities – by running the generator only during the day and turning it off at night to save diesel. In fact, diesel consumption was reduced by over 50% and extended the time the generator could run from 6 days to over 12 days.
Chart 1 – Isla Frio’s Main Freezer Temperature from September 5 – 23
Source: Viking Cold Solutions’ Cold Chain PortalTM
In Chart 1, the change to the temperature settings to a -10 Fahrenheit setpoint before the hurricane is clear on September the 10th. This provided fully charged Thermal Energy Storage to work intermittently with Isla Frio’s generator and allowed Isla Frio to maintain safe temperatures throughout the hurricane without products ever passing -5 degrees Fahrenheit – even without any power. Isla Frio kept their clients’ products safe and were immediately able to help feed the people of Puerto Rico during their time of need. As a trusted partner to dozens of Puerto Rico’s food storage and distribution businesses, Viking Cold Solutions was there before Hurricane Fiona, during the storm, and now to help the island recover by providing resilient, safe, and energy efficient temperature control technology.
Chart 2 – Isla Frio’s Cooler & Freezer Temperatures from September 18 – 23
Source: Viking Cold Solutions’ Cold Chain PortalTM
Isla Frio’s TES system maintained facility temperatures day after day, as pictured in Chart 2, even when there was no power available by providing supplemental refrigeration and intelligent control. The TES technology reduced temperature stratification and cut temperature fluctuations while absorbing and consolidating 50% to 85% of heat infiltration. Our 24/7 remote monitoring and notification service kept our clients at Isla Frio well informed about their facility during the storm and provided valuable data for effective decision making.
As Hurricane Fiona churns its way past Bermuda, Viking Cold Solutions was already there working with our clients to again weather the storm. We’re relieved that our Puerto Rico clients are recovering quickly with our resilient technology and look forward to helping more businesses get through extreme weather and manage expensive, intermittent electricity. Whether it’s a hurricane, equipment failure, forest fires, or other natural or man-made disasters, Viking Cold Solutions’ resilient sustainability technology is there to help. For more information about how our TES technology can help your facility, click here.
