In the latest sign that efforts are ongoing to increase natural refrigerant training in Australia, Heatcraft Australia (a leading wholesaler) held a two day CO2 refrigeration training session on 7-8 November at its facility in Milperra, New South Wales.
The session, led by Douglas Herkess of Heatcraft Australia and Inderpal Saund of parent company Beijer Ref, was attended by about 20-25 participants and is targeted at representatives from all industry sectors including engineers, contractors, technicians, consultants, end users, and instructors from local vocational and training institution TAFE NSW.
“The training is specifically targeted at people wanting to gain a greater understanding of CO2 refrigeration system technology from a commercial and technical perspective,” Heatcraft Australia told this website.
The two-day training course included sessions encompassing “CO2 safety and handling, applications and systems, system design/benefits, calculation and selection, control logic and installation tips and techniques”.
“With the future trend heading towards transcritical CO2 systems, we are giving it specific focus,” the company said. “Participants gain an understanding of how CO2 technologies can benefit end users, with payback projections and information on how to sell CO2 technologies a key feature.”
“It’s all about taking the next step in providing a CO2 system solution to their customer,” the firm added.
Industry replacing fear with knowledge
Feedback has been very positive, according to Heatcraft Australia. One of the main goals was to address a general “fear of new technology” that is often seen as a barrier to further uptake of CO2 refrigeration systems in Australia.
David Edwards, NSW customer support manager for local contractor Oomiak Refrigeration, attended the session to “learn more about the safety, design and progression of the technology”.
Oomiak Refrigeration is also a leading expert in industrial refrigeration systems. Edwards noted that he was interested in the session because “in some aspects there are opportunities for CO2 in industrial refrigeration”.
Wayne Guy, who is managing director of NSW-based contractor Premiair Refrigeration and Electrical, sought to improve his understanding of CO2 technology and “learn about the operation and safety of CO2“.
Guy said that Premiair Refrigeration and Electrical was currently servicing three medium/large supermarkets fitted with CO2 transcritical systems and would be sending more employees for CO2 training in the future.
Heatcraft Australia says that, “going forward, courses will be scheduled according to demand”.
The next CO2 training sessions will be held in Queensland and Western Australia in March 2019.
Anyone interested in attending a future course should email training@heatcraft.com.au.
