Food & Beverage Manufacturing worked example

Refrigeration Energy Cost with refrigeration electrical load of 210 kW: a worked example in food & beverage manufacturing

Push refrigeration electrical load up to 210 kW and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it for chillers, freezers, cold rooms, blast freezers, glycol systems, process cooling, and refrigerated storage serving food, beverage, or CPG operations.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Refrigeration electrical load: 210 kW (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 85)
  • Refrigeration runtime: 24 hr (unchanged)
  • Blended electricity rate: 0.14 $ / kWh (unchanged)
  • Units processed or stored: 4,200 units (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Total refrigeration energy cost = refrigeration electrical load × refrigeration runtime × blended electricity rate) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 706 $ for total refrigeration energy cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 5,040 kWh for refrigeration energy cost energy used.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.17 $ / piece for refrigeration energy cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 29.4 $ / hr for hourly refrigeration energy cost.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where refrigeration electrical load sits at 85 kW and the headline result is 286 $, this scenario comes in 147% above the baseline at 706 $.
  • Computes total refrigeration energy cost from connected load, runtime, and electricity rate, then divides by units to get cost per unit and per hour. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Total refrigeration energy cost: 706 $ (headline result)
  • Refrigeration Energy Cost energy used: 5,040 kWh
  • Refrigeration energy cost per unit: 0.17 $ / piece
  • Hourly refrigeration energy cost: 29.4 $ / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Refrigeration Energy Cost calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.