New flower® Energy Saving Chamber

In the last years the energy saving subject has become increasingly important as the burning of fossil fuels for power generation is the largest source of CO₂ emissions. This gas is now considered the major accused of global warming. The topic raised in the agenda of many private and public stakeholers who committed in providing subsidies to those companies investing in the use of energy-saving machines.

ACS paved the way to energy saving operations in the environmental testing field in 2004, obtaining flower^® patent: the first energy-saving chamber.
Focusing as always on continuous improvement, today ACS is proud to present the NEW flower^® with even higher performance, which can guarantee up to 70% energy savings compared to a conventional machine of similar performance.
With the new flower^®, when the requested cold is less than that available, the exceeding cooling capacity is stored and later recovered in the following cooling phases, increasing efficiency and decreasing energy wasting.
Protecting and preserving the environment is one of our company's highest priorities, which is why it is certified to ISO14001. In line with its sustainability policies, ACS has been conducting research and development to reduce energy consumption and to increase the use of ecological and recyclable materials in order to develop products that reduce environmental damages at all stages of the product lifecycles.

The chamber, “flower^®”, is the first result of this research, a truly innovative product in the field of climatic test chambers, thanks to its special design.

Reduced energy consumption up to 70%
It consumes about 70% less energy during the stabilization phases due to the unique and “patented” system which includes:

• An inverter that controls compressor speed and allows the compressor power to adapt different working needs
• A “cold sink”* to increase the cooling efficiency

Reduced noise level at 50%
50% noise reduction is obtained due to:

• An inverter on the compressor which reduces the rotation speed to about 40% of its nominal value according to working conditions
• An automatic control system that reduces condenser blower rotating speed according to ambient temperature and cooling power

These advantages are combined with the use of “environmentally friendly” materials during the production phase:

• No polyurethane in the insulation process
• Recyclable or easily disposable packing materials.

* The “cold sink” consists of a mixture of water and glycol having a specific solidification temperature of around -20°C. There are two heat exchangers inside the cold sink; one acts as an evaporator and the other as a super-cooler. When the cooling powers required are very low, the control system of “flower^®” chamber keeps the rotation speed of the mechanical compressors at the minimum allowed values, and the excess coolant evaporates in the evaporator situated inside the cold sink; in this way the chamber accumulates a reserve of "cool" to be used at a later stage.

Product RANGE

Please click on the following link to open the FM Datasheet.

GENERAL FEATURES

Control and management system and interfaces
Controlled by PLC and Advanced HMI

Remote access
There is a wide range of possibilities thanks to the built-in MyKratos™ and MyAngel24™; multichamber control also available upon request

Electromagnetic closing system
Ensures the security of environmental tests

Air treatment system
Ensures a precise control of the climatic parameters inside the chamber with minimal thermal inertia; an axial fan allows rapid temperature variations of both air and specimen.

Humidification system (only climatic version)
The humidifier with a self-contained heater and dedicated controlling S/W offers two great advantages:
- it does not require distilled or demineralised water to operate properly
- it uses ‘dry’ vapour in order to avoid condensation on the specimens and to reproduce real environmental conditions

Comparison with a similar performing chamber

• The values on the blue line represent the lowest energy savings
• The values on the green line indicate the highest energy savings

ACS has tested its chambers, comparing them with its competitor’s best product, both in stationary conditions and according to international standards.

Comparative tests VS competitor at steady conditions:

Complete basic configuration

• MyKratos™ and MyAngel24™: top of the line HMI for remote control 
• 10'' touch screen on-board display
• Inspection window: multiple-crystal, with double heated transparent film, 550 h X 450 mm size 
• Ecological refrigerant gas in line with EU Regulation 517/2014
• Internal lighting
• Self feeding system (tap water through chamber embedded softener)
• Wheels and feet
• Electromagnetic closing system
• Silicone portholes: 80 mm (left side) and 150 mm diameter (right side) fitted with silicone cap. They allow internal-external electrical, mechanical or hydraulic connections.
• Digital min./max. thermostat: with independent probe
• No. 1 internal grid shelf
• Auxiliary contacts (specimens, alarms)

OPTIONS

• Additional portholes: 80 and 150 mm
• Water condenser: for the chambers which are normally equipped with air condenser.
• UV lamp: for ageing tests on painted surfaces, plastic materials, rubber, etc.
• Handling port hole: Ø125 mm, positioned on the door near the inspection window. It allows handling specimens inside the chamber (available for models from 500 litres up).
• Internal shelves: AISI 304 stainless steel, adjustable in height, grid shelves to be added to the one supplied.
• Reinforced floor: max 500 kg distributed load
• Notch 50x70mm
• Set of no. 4 analogic inputs 0÷10 V for user’s data acquisition (no. 1 set max)
• Set of no. 4 PT100 inputs (no. 1 set max)
• Set of no. 4 PT100
• Set of no. 8 auxiliary contacts (no. 1 set max)
• No break power unit for PLC
• Compressed air dehumidification kit
• Capacitive probe: RH Controlling and monitoring (activated by control system)
• Temperature and Humidity (for climatic chambers) analogic retransmission
• Temperature extension to +200° C
• Air fan motor speed adjustment
• Specimen switching off in case of chamber alarm
• Air flow booster
• MyKratos™ Multichamber: software, installed on a PC, for monitoring and control multiple chambers (to be supplied upon request)

CHAMBER FLOOR LOADING AND SPECIFICATION DETAILS

• Max. floor load 100 kg/m² approx. (equally distributed)
• Max. load of the shelf 50 kg approx. (equally distributed)
• Internal test space is made of stainless steel (material 1.4301, equivalent of AISI 304)
• All seams are TIG welded and vapour tight

AIR TREATMENT SYSTEM

System includes the following components:

• Cooling evaporator
• Heating system
• Dehumidification system (only climatic version)
• Thermoregulation air circulation fan
• Temperature and humidity probe

COOLING

Mechanical cooling based on single stage system (-40°C) or cascade systems (–70°C). The cooling system is realized with semi-hermetic alternative type compressors including an automatic injection-type protection system. This protects the compressors when they are cooling down from high temperatures.

HEATING

The chamber is heated by means of electrical heaters, protected by safe thermostats that disconnect overall chamber main power components (such as compressors, fans and heaters) in case of accidental over-temperature.