Fixed defrost intervals in refrigeration systems often trigger a defrost cycle even when there is hardly any icing, driving up energy consumption and operating costs. With “Defrost on Demand,” ebm‑papst has developed a technology for need-based defrosting based on operating data from EC fans. At Chillventa, the company reached out to potential pilot users and development partners.

Defrost on Demand has so far been tested under laboratory conditions and in a deep-freeze application. The approach uses operating data from the EC fan to assess the icing condition of the evaporator and trigger defrost cycles only when necessary. The fan thus serves not only to move air but also as a sensor.

Studies conducted to date in a deep-freeze application at −18 °C demonstrate the potential of on-demand defrosting. Compared to time-controlled defrosting, energy consumption was reduced from 7.8 to 3.4 kWh per week. Instead of a fixed defrost cycle every seven hours, only three to six defrost cycles per week were required, depending on the icing condition. This results in a potential savings of more than 49 percent. Further pilot projects are planned for the future to confirm the results under different operating conditions.

To implement Defrost on Demand, ebm‑papst is currently investigating various integration approaches. One of these is based on an EVCO cooling unit controller that manages the entire refrigeration cycle and can integrate the functions required for on-demand defrosting.

At the same time, the company is examining how the NEXAIRA Gateway can be used as a digital platform to evaluate operating data and provide additional monitoring and analysis functions. Both approaches are currently undergoing further development and are being validated through pilot projects.

Defrost on Demand is designed to reduce unnecessary defrost cycles, thereby lowering energy consumption, operating costs, and CO₂e emissions. At the same time, the analysis of operating data provides additional information about the system’s condition. The insights gained are currently being developed further in collaboration with pilot users.