Christian Heerup, Technology Manager, Refrigeration, at DTI noted the changes that have occurred over the years with the Danish market increasingly favouring natural refrigerants. So much so that he estimates up to half of the attendees of their CO2 courses come from companies or representatives traditionally working with HFC technology.
“We are trying to reach refrigeration technicians and maintenance people who may have received training in HFC systems, and maybe they want to gain a little bit more knowledge in CO2 and other natural refrigerants,” he says.
“There are lots of people that want a better understanding of what’s go and no-go with CO2. The market has matured in Denmark and now we’re seeing people with different kinds of occupations attend the courses.”
DTI’s two-day course combines training on subcritical and transcritical systems and the benefits of ejector technology and how it can help the efficiency of CO2 transcritical systems in high ambient temperatures are now being promoted.
Though the core of the course covers the basics of design, operation and maintenance of refrigeration systems with CO2, it also facilitates more detailed discussions and knowledge sharing among the course participants on their experiences with refrigeration systems and CO2 as a refrigerant.
A common theme is the high working pressure of CO2 as a refrigerant and working to dispel misconceptions or the ‘fear factor’ surrounding that.
“The course is a combination of theory and hands-on, people can see it work with high pressures and train for set points.”
“A lot of people are a little bit afraid of CO2 as a refrigerant because they are not used to working with high pressures and suddenly they can see a system working right in front of them with 100 bar pressure reading on the gauge so they are much more confident after doing the hands-on training.”
Course curriculum:
- Basics of CO2 as a refrigerant: safety, material choice and system design
- Overview of CO2 systems: industrial plants, supermarket plants, transcritical plants
- EU directive on pressure equipment and assembly methods for CO2
- Introduction to hands-on training: industrial plants, cascade/transcritical systems
- Charging and discharging of the refrigeration system
- Operation, service and maintenance procedures for CO2 systems
After the course you will have gained:
- An understanding of the unique characteristics CO2
- An ability to assess its possibilities and limitations
- Knowledge of how to design a CO2 refrigeration system (super- and subcritical)
- A basis for discussing the choice of components with suppliers
- Practical knowledge of safety conditions related to CO2 charging, discharging, commissioning, controlling and stopping cascade and transcritical CO2 systems
The course is designed for people with a broad range of working backgrounds: including consultants, project engineers and contractors working across calculation, dimensioning and maintenance of CO2 refrigeration systems.
DTI first commenced its training programs in the 1980s and has been training professionals in CO2 systems since May 2002. A large percentage of the participants are Danish but DTI has also conducted courses abroad for partners in the UK, as well as courses in English for companies such as Danfoss and Emerson.
The next three training sessions will be held at DTI’s Aarhus refrigeration plant on December 8 and 9, 2015; March 7 and 8, 2016; and September 15 and 16, 2016.
For more information or to register visit
