Refrigeration Supermarkets
Waitrose uses a hydrocarbon refrigerant solution using the flammable gases propene and propane.
Klima-Therm project manager Tim Mitchell
dismisses concerns about the flammability of propene because the refrigerant charges are so small: ‘The amount of refrigerant in a cabinet is so tiny that even if the cabinets in a store discharged all their gases at the same time, you’d still be well below any flammability limits in the regulations.’ Waitrose says that the advantage of this system is its ‘relative simplicity’ compared with the hydrocarbon- free refrigeration technologies used by other supermarkets. Waitrose has set a timescale of 10 years to work through its entire estate of 222 shops fitting the new technology. The switch to non-HFCs by leading supermarkets is
not without its critics in the building services engineering sector, however. Some question the efficiency of natural refrigerant-based systems. There are also concerns that there are insufficient numbers of competent engineers to design, manufacture and maintain such systems. CIBSE and leading trade bodies argue that it is important to focus resources on these maintenance and quality control issues, so as to minimise both leakage and inefficiencies in existing systems. The question of the industry’s preparedness for new
refrigerant systems was raised by Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King speaking at the Environment Agency Conference last November, when he said that a serious barrier to the roll-out of new refrigeration technologies was ‘a lack of skilled engineers to build and maintain these units’. Although HFC-based systems are still legal,
uncertainty over the refrigerant’s long-term future has raised doubts over its viability.
‘The uncertainty is that the EU has said that it will
review the refrigerant regulations in 2011, and that review could apply new criteria to the regulation, which could affect its future viability,’ says M&S’s Arthur. ‘This is important when you are investing in refrigerant
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systems with an equipment life of up to 25 years.’ But Cedric Sloan, director general of manufacturers’
organisation FETA, says: ‘There is a revision of F-Gas Regulations due in 2011 but I know the officials at DEFRA [the environment department] and a number of EU officials understand that there has not been enough work done on alternatives to HFCs to even think about a ban on them.’ Sloan insists that there is still no proof that CO2
systems are more environmentally friendly: ‘They are bigger systems that work on higher pressures so they use up just as much energy, if not more energy than HFC systems, so you are adding to CO2 emissions.’ He adds: ‘I don’t see a great pressure on supermarkets to go to CO2 – some of them may want to go that route for other reasons but I don’t think they are being propelled that way by regulations.’
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Number of UK stores for some major supermarkets converting to CO2 or hydrocarbon-based refrigerants
Supermarket
M&S Tesco Asda Sainsbury’s
Morissons Waitrose
Number of stores Number of stores currently converted
650 2,282 364* 525
422 222
13 7 3* 2*
20 3
Sources: Company information. *Based on information correct at August 2008
Number of stores planned for conversion
All new stores from January 2010
All new stores from March 2010
No information available
135 stores by 2014. All stores by 2030
CO2 or hydrocarbons in all future stores + refits where possible
All stores by 2010
April 2010 CIBSE Journal
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