A panel of seven judges appointed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers found Beacon II Smart Defrost to be worthy of special recognition in the refrigeration category.

The Beacon II Smart Defrost operates only when needed, which can reduce defrost cycles up to 75 percent, according to Heatcraft officials. Standard defrost systems have approximately four defrosts per day, while the Smart Defrost system, depending on need, may only defrost once or twice per day at a significant energy and cost savings, they added.

The Smart Defrost and Smart Controller systems predict frost accumulation and defrosts on an as-needed basis. This is the first system in the industry capable of predicting frost accumulation and initiating defrost only when necessary, company officials said.