Advantages and disadvantages of electric defrosting and hot gas defrosting
You need to consider the following points when deciding which method is best for your demands：
1. Installation
Hot gas systems demand pipe installation, thus installation tends to be more complicated. And the electric defrosting is relatively easy to install.
2. Efficiency
The electric defrost will use more energy to remove the extra heat. In addition, the humidity inside the cold room is usually higher during this process, because the heating element may be partially covered with ice during this process. In this case, the defrosting process will not only melt the ice but will also immediately turn it into vapor. This can be bad because it promotes the growth of bacteria and fungi, and can also freeze the coils after the next refrigeration cycle begins. Careful setting of the electric defrost cycle is a crucial step in improving efficiency.
On the other hand, the hot gas defrost method uses latent heat of the refrigerant to heat the coil, which will consume less energy and it will produce less moisture.
To know more about: How does the hot gas defrost work? To find out Why is hot gas defrosting an effective way to defrost evaporators?
3. Defrost Cycle Duration
It takes some time to heat up to preset temperatures, which may increase the cycle duration. Since heat transfer in electric defrost systems is not as efficient as in hot gas defrost, systems using electric defrost need to experience longer defrost cycles. As a result, the temperature of the internal compartment will also be higher, which can cause problems. Because you may need to wait for the temperature to cool down before putting the food back in the compartment.
The hot gas defrost cycle uses hot steam that is already present in the system, so there is no need to wait any heating time. Due to this feature and the fact that they are more efficient in general, defrost cycles are also usually shorter. This also reduces the risk of temperature changes in the compartment.
While both hot gas defrost and electric defrost methods can prevent icing, hot gas defrost tends to be more reliable. It consumes less energy and takes less time to complete the defrost cycle. In an ideal situation, the number of defrost cycles in a refrigeration system should be kept to a minimum.
CRYO provides the cold room solution for refrigeration equipment with hot gas defrost, which is make it more energy efficient, to cut down your electricity bill for cold room usage.