Recurring electrical faults? Industrial refrigeration solutions that keep your plant running without shutdowns

Introduction: When Electrical Faults Shut Down an Entire Refrigeration Plant

Food manufacturers rely on continuous, stable cooling—especially when running ammonia refrigeration systems that operate around the clock. But when electrical faults repeatedly shut down an entire refrigeration plant, production stalls instantly. Product starts warming, compliance risk rises, and onsite teams scramble to diagnose what went wrong.

In many cases, the real culprit isn’t the compressor or the refrigeration hardware. It’s the unseen electrical disturbances behind them. Electrical instability can cripple even the most robust industrial refrigeration solutions, particularly when harmonics, voltage distortions, or VSD interference go unchecked.

The Problem: Weeks of Shutdowns and Zero Answers

One food manufacturing client faced this exact situation. Their ammonia refrigeration plant kept tripping without warning. Compressors dropped offline multiple times per week. Each time the plant restarted, operations fell further behind schedule. Product wastage climbed.

Contractors pointed fingers but produced no answers. The refrigeration contractor insisted compressors were failing. The electrical contractor claimed the switchboard was unstable. Neither conducted meaningful diagnostics. The result: ongoing downtime, escalating losses, and no path forward.

In a high-risk environment such as food manufacturing, unreliable refrigeration is more than an inconvenience—it compromises product integrity, safety compliance, and production planning.

3. Why Industrial Refrigeration Trips: The Electrical Reality Behind “Mechanical” Faults

Repeated compressor shutdowns often get classified as mechanical failures. But modern industrial refrigeration plants—especially ammonia systems—depend heavily on sensitive electrical and control architectures.

Common electrical triggers include:

• Harmonics distortion from nearby VSDs

• THDI spikes that overload protection circuits

• Voltage dips during high-load starts

• VSD interference causing instability in controls

These disturbances often mimic mechanical problems, causing compressors to trip even though the refrigeration system itself is perfectly healthy. Standard electricians rarely diagnose these issues because they require specialised refrigeration electrical engineering expertise, advanced testing tools, and understanding of industrial refrigeration controls.

This is why an integrated refrigeration-and-electrical approach is essential when troubleshooting complex plant shutdowns.

4. Our Diagnostic Approach: Power Quality Testing That Reveals What Others Miss

To break the cycle of guesswork, we deployed a Fluke Power Quality Analyzer, logging real-time harmonics, voltage dips, and load interactions across the plant. This included:

• Monitoring the behaviour of chiller VSDs

• Mapping compressor start patterns

• Assessing switchboard loading and supply quality

Within days, the data revealed a pattern that had been overlooked for weeks. Electrical interference—not mechanical compression—was shutting the plant down.

This level of insight only emerges when refrigeration and electrical services are treated as a unified engineering problem rather than isolated trades.

5. The Root Cause: VSD Chiller Creating THDI Spikes Over 45%

The cause of the shutdowns was clear in the power quality logs. A nearby VSD-driven chiller generated THDI spikes exceeding 45% during startup. These spikes distorted the electrical supply feeding the refrigeration compressors.

The sensitive protection circuits—designed to safeguard the plant from dangerous electrical conditions—reacted instantly. They tripped the refrigeration compressors to prevent electrical damage.

This was the fault that multiple contractors missed simply because they never tested for harmonics or THDI behaviour. Without logging equipment and refrigeration electrical engineering expertise, this type of problem remains invisible.

6. The Fix: Active Harmonic Filtering + Compliance-Level Electrical Engineering

Once the electrical distortion was confirmed, we deployed a permanent engineering solution instead of the trial-and-error adjustments used by previous contractors. The corrective actions included:

1. Installing a 300A Active Harmonic Filter (AHF) This stabilised the power quality, smoothed THDI spikes, and prevented distorted waveforms from reaching refrigeration equipment.

2. Rewiring and recalibrating protection settings All changes were completed in accordance with AS/NZS 3000, ensuring compliant, safe electrical operation across the plant.

3. Verifying stability of all refrigeration electrical connections and controls This eliminated nuisance trips and restored confidence in the system.

The result was a stable, clean electrical supply that allowed compressors and refrigeration controls to operate without interruption.

7. Results: Zero Trips, Stable Cooling, and Major Production Savings

After installing the Active Harmonic Filter and correcting the protection settings, the plant recorded zero shutdowns. Compressor operation stabilised, refrigeration performance normalised, and production returned to full throughput.

The client eliminated tens of thousands of dollars in losses tied to downtime, wasted product, and emergency service callouts. More importantly, they now had a reliable, engineered solution instead of speculative opinions.

This case underscores the value of integrated Industrial Refrigeration expertise and strategic food and beverage automation Consulting, where electrical and refrigeration engineering work together to deliver predictable operational continuity.

FAQs

What causes recurring trips in industrial refrigeration systems even when compressors seem fine?

 Electrical disturbances like harmonics, THDI spikes, or voltage dips trigger protection circuits even when the compressor itself is healthy.

How can refrigeration electrical faults mimic mechanical failures?

 They force compressors to operate outside normal electrical limits, causing trips that appear mechanical but originate from poor power quality.

Do VSD-driven chillers commonly create harmonics issues in industrial refrigeration controls?

 Yes—VSDs often generate high harmonic distortion that interferes with refrigeration controls and causes nuisance tripping.

When should a food plant call an industrial refrigeration electrician instead of a general sparky?

 When trips are recurring, unexplained, or linked to VSDs, harmonics, or control-system faults that standard electricians cannot diagnose.

How do THDI spikes lead to compressor shutdowns in ammonia refrigeration plants?

 High THDI distorts the electrical waveform, causing protection devices to trip compressors instantly for safety.

Can industrial refrigeration solutions eliminate nuisance trips permanently?

 Yes—when electrical root causes are identified and corrected with engineered fixes like filtering, rewiring, or protection tuning.

 What type of power quality testing is required for reliable refrigeration electrical engineering diagnostics?

 Harmonics logging, voltage dip analysis, and load interaction monitoring using a power quality analyzer like Fluke PQ tools.

How do Active Harmonic Filters stabilise refrigeration and electrical services systems?

 They cancel harmonic distortion in real time, delivering clean, stable power that prevents trips and protects refrigeration equipment.

Why do refrigeration plants fail during peak load even with new compressors installed?

 Electrical demand spikes distort voltage and increase THDI, overwhelming protection settings regardless of compressor condition.

What’s the fastest way to identify electrical issues in large industrial refrigeration services environments?

 Conduct short-term power quality logging on key switchboards to pinpoint harmonics, dips, or VSD interference within hours.