Commercial refrigeration has experienced a big boom in recent years. Guaranteeing food quality and safety can only be satisfied by low temperature transport and storage to prevent bacterial growth. “Foodie” culture in particular emphasizes freshness and prevention of food borne illnesses, and any missteps are quick to be exposed online and in social channels—which means that refrigeration has becoming incredibly important in protecting many brands’ reputations. What does this mean for us? Refrigeration is going to be everywhere soon. Let’s take a look at some commercial refrigeration trends and how they’ll affect us in the future.
Energy efficiency and environmental impact
Throughout the years, the focus on energy efficiency in the HVAC industry has continually increased. Companies are constantly looking for new methods, technologies and tools to be able to reduce waste. New energy-efficient heating and cooling technologies will become more available, giving companies new options to choose from. Efficient equipment can lead to savings down the line for both consumers and companies.
There’s been a lot of work done to try and find more eco-friendly refrigerants. HFC refrigerants worked for their purpose of minimizing damage to the ozone layer, but with the unfortunate side effect of contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Natural refrigerants such as ammonia and carbon dioxide seem like the future, but the challenge is making them affordable enough and sustainable enough that they can be adopted by a wide swathe of the industry. Overall, regulations are pushing the refrigeration industry towards lower-GWP refrigerants. Various agencies are already taking action to reduce hydrofluorocarbon use by restricting sales of high-GWP refrigerants and proposing incentives for low-GWP refrigerant use. Generally, industry focus will be on energy savings and lowering environmental impact. Future-proofing a company’s systems will be the name of the game in this uncertain future.
What steps are being taken to minimize environmental impact?
Replacing traditional refrigerants with natural or low-GWP refrigerants has a significant impact on the greenhouse effect. In a traditional commercial enterprise which uses refrigerant heavily, such as a supermarket, replacing R404A can bring approximately a 20% reduction in total environmental impact. For newer natural refrigerants such as ammonia, leaks are generally irrelevant in terms of greenhouse effect. Refrigerant and HVAC companies are learning to deal with the fact that some natural refrigerants can be flammable. Training and protocols for handling refrigerants such as R290—a high purity version of propane suitable for use in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry—are gradually becoming more and more widespread. It’s just one side effect of having low-GWP natural refrigerants that are also effective for everyday use, but the industry as a whole has risen to meet the challenge.
Improving system efficiency and transitioning to new low-GWP refrigerants as mandated by current regulations—or ones about to be adopted—will significantly reduce the impact of commercial refrigeration. This is in spite of an overall increase in the number of HVAC and refrigeration systems in place.
What is next?
Going forward, one thing that is for sure is the role of refrigerant recovery. As technology advances and new solutions are found for refrigeration challenges, there is going to be a constant evolution of the kinds of refrigerants and HVAC units that will be on the market. As such, you’re going to want to have a reliable, proven refrigerant specialist on hand to help you transition to more effective technologies and more eco-friendly, low-GWP refrigerants. Refrigerant Services LLC would be more than happy to be your refrigerant specialist.
Our highly-trained technicians are constantly updated on new regulations, training, and protocols for dealing with refrigerants you’ll find in almost any commercial refrigeration or HVAC unit. If you’re ready to look toward the future of our industry, we’re right there with you—just give us a call at 844-PURECFC (7873232) and we’d be more than happy to tell you how we can help. If you don’t have time for a long phone call, you simply need to fill out our on-line contact form and someone will be in touch with you to schedule an appointment at a more convenient time.
