Effect of Night Blinds on Open Integral Display Cabinets

The impact of night blinds on the product temperature performance and electrical energy consumption of an integral open multi-deck cabinet is investigated in this paper. The cabinet was tested at various environmental conditions to establish the impact of ambient temperature on the effectiveness of the blind in reducing the energy consumption of the cabinet during night-time operation. The cabinet was tested over a range of temperatures between 20 °C and 35 °C at a constant moisture content. The results indicate that the use of night blinds could produce energy savings of between 10% and 22% calculated on the basis of a 24 hour period of operation with the blind lowered for 12 hours out of the 24 hours. These energy savings lead to pay-back periods of between 2 and 4 years. The savings reduced with increasing ambient temperature due to the increase in the impact of infiltration and conduction across the blind at higher temperatures.