Italian controls manufacturer Eliwell has introduced a virtual innovation hub, a digital immersive showroom that allows refrigeration stakeholders from all over the world to visit a 450m2 (4,844ft2) supermarket demonstration center located at Eliwell headquarters in Belluno.
Eliwell, a division of Schneider Electric, offers control systems and services for commercial refrigeration, industrial refrigeration, and air conditioning, that are compatible with propane (R290) and CO2 (R744) refrigerants.
The innovation hub was introduced at Eliwell’s digital experience innovation day on January 27, where the company also unveiled the Domino Zero controller solution and the EcoStruxure retail platform.
Domino Zero is a controller solution for transcritical CO2 supermarket systems, aiming to help users achieve “zero waste” in consumption and maintenance. “Connectivity now pervades every industry, as does demand for sustainability,” Eliwell said in the statement. “In the retail and refrigeration sector in particular, there is a pressing need for solutions using natural refrigerants, which offer not only energy efficiency, but also a reduction in total operating cost.”
Life-like surroundings
The virtual innovation hub showroom is a mock-up of a real supermarket, enabling customers to experience the applications of Eliwell and Schneider Electric-branded automation and controller solutions in immersive life-like surroundings.
The showroom includes all the elements one would normally expect to find in a supermarket: a control room, a cold room, a number of different refrigerated counters and cabinets, and a compressor rack. The control room exhibits solutions for energy managers, maintenance companies and system integrators.
Throughout the innovation hub, visitors will find clickable touch-points that includes videos and insights, which illustrate the technical specifications and features of all the applied solutions. Links are also provided to the technical documentation.
The showroom can be accessed here (login/sign up required).
Smarter and more connected
The EcoStruxure platform combines all the solutions needed to “make a store smarter and more interconnected – guarantees more efficient management and improved safety and comfort,” said Eliwell.
The system can be used for integrated control and management of Eliwell and Schneider Electric solutions, from energy monitoring, access and lighting management, to refrigeration and HVAC systems. It allows for remote management of the entire store structure.
Eliwell’s parent Schneider Electric was recently named the most sustainable company in the world by Corporate Knights.
