Nearly all control systems for Controlled Atmosphere storage are centralized. This means that measuring tubes and wiring for valves and fans must be brought to a central cabinet. This cabinet is tailor-made for the customer. Blue Atmosphere does this differently. Our control system is decentralized, modular and standardized. The control part consists of a network of Siemens Climatix controllers, our user interface, programmed in Scada Reliance, is however located on a separate industrial PC. The design of the new Blue Atmosphere control system stems from our vision:
- At least 50% savings on labour and installation material;
- Standardization (to be kept in stock), but customization possible;
- Far-reaching improvement of stability and reliability through the use of industrial, German components;
- Simplification of installation work and service;
- Expandable and suitable for replacing existing installations;
- Communication with other software packages using common communication protocols (e.g. when integrating with refrigeration control);
- Improvement of user-friendliness through progressive automation (algorithms and PID controls) and diagnostics;
- Suitable for cold stores and pallet sleeves (FreshMAP);
- Cooling control, ultrasonic humidification and water loss measurement can be integrated in cold room controllers.
Our cold room controllers, which are tested in our factory, always operate two cells. Measuring valves are integrated in them. They are only interconnected by a central measuring hose, a 230 VAC power cable and a computer cable. It could hardly be easier to install, because the cooling controllers are located close to the room valves for the CO2 adsorber and N2 generator, and the aeration fans. Due to its simplicity, even inexperienced parties can install our controls independently and very quickly. This plug and play way of working is not only much more stable and safer, but also hugely saves costs.
A stable factor of our control systems is that the controller part and the user interface are completely separate. If both are on the same PC, a computer failure can shut down an entire storage facility. Especially when it comes to storing thousands of tons of fresh produce, you want to be able to count on the reliability of the control system. All our machine controls are part of the controller network. In short, all alarms, but also machine settings can be managed remotely.