New regulations worldwide will carve the choices of decision-makers
As the phase-down of HFCs becomes a focal point of global efforts to combat climate change, the quest for alternative refrigerant solutions is accelerating, argue Danfoss’ Kenneth Bank Madsen (global application expert) and Anders Juul (segment strategy manager for CO2) in a series of papers outlining current and upcoming trends in CO2 food retail applications.
Indeed, the F-Gas Regulation in Europe, the SNAP Regulation in the USA and other global initiatives governed by the Montreal Protocol are all leading to action on phasing out HFCs, argue the Danfoss papers.
The company has been working with CO2 technologies for both transcritical and subcritical systems for more than ten years.
Food retail refrigeration harnessing efficient heat reclaim
Impressive numbers of CO2 transcritical installations with heat reclaim in supermarkets indicate that such refrigeration systems can provide enough heat to satisfy demands for heating and hot water, eliminating the need for separate heating installations. The obvious advantages include reduced carbon footprint, energy savings of 20% or more, and payback times of less than two and a half years.
This can only lead to continued growing interest in transcritical CO2 systems with heat reclaim in 2016.
Danfoss expects that in future, supermarkets will not only cover their own heating demand with heat reclaim but will also move from energy consumers to energy suppliers, by offering surplus heat to the local district energy grid.
New technologies pave the way for CO2 refrigeration in warm climates
“Global retailers prefer global refrigeration solutions,” the Danfoss papers argue. The proven successful use of CO2 refrigeration in colder climates is progressing step by step to warmer climates. As technology is advancing at a fast pace, it is likely that in 2016 we will see a breakthrough in transcritical solutions for sub-tropical and even tropical climates, the papers continue.
One of Danfoss’ most promising new technologies is the ejector, devised by the company in close cooperation with refrigeration specialists from SINTEF. Ejectors increase the energy efficiency of parallel compression significantly and enhance the viability of transcritical refrigeration in warm climates.
Even it is still in the prototype stage, initial trial set-ups in 10 supermarkets have shown that simple ejector technology can increase the efficiency of the parallel compression system significantly. Furthermore, ejectors allow smaller and more compact compressor packs to be installed in the first place.
Danfoss ‘very active’ in promoting natural refrigerants
Meanwhile, R744.com spoke to Inderpal Saund, Danfoss’ business development manager (food retail) for the Asia Pacific and India region, on the occasion of this month’s ATMOsphere Asia conference in Tokyo.
Asked to describe Danfoss’ involvement with natural refrigerants in Asia, Saund said the company had been present in the Asian market for over 40 years. “In that time, we have been very active in promoting natural refrigerants for commercial and industrial refrigeration applications,” he explained.
“Industrial refrigeration has been our main focus and it was around 2006 onwards when we started to promote CO2 solutions for food retail applications,” he added.
Saund’s presentation at ATMOsphere Asia focused on Danfoss’ low-charge ammonia activities. “Over the years, Danfoss has been working with various refrigeration companies that intend to build low-charge ammonia systems,” he said. Rather than providing the systems themselves, “our involvement is to provide the right solutions for the customers’ applications,” he added.
To read the Danfoss papers, please click here.
