COMPRESSORS


The migration from HFCs to natural refrigerants is well advanced in Europe. What about the migration from fixed to variable speed compressors? How is this movement going? We have different paces in the residential and the commercial sectors. Today, globally speaking, the domestic sector is a bit ahead in the adoption of variable-speed compressors. Meanwhile, the commercial sector is now experiencing the transition to new refrigerants and this topic will occupy its attention in the near future. But we can say that the migration to variable speed in this sector has been significant and increasing. We see that one of the key points to leverage the migration in the commercial segment is that the energy savings achieved are much more tangible than in the domestic sector, with an attractive payback time, especially in food retail. The reduction in the electricity bills lead to a payback time that can vary from six months to two years, depending on the situation and the refrigeration equipment you are dealing with.


Another gain of variable speed technology


for retailers is more temperature stability, which leads to improved food safety and less product loss.


For the food retail segment what are the main trends you see in the refrigeration industry? Undoubtedly, one of the main trends in retail is the demand for energy efficiency, as the cost of electricity is an important part of the total costs of a supermarket. In addition, energy efficiency contributes to reducing the sector's environmental impact. This trend points in the direction of the


migration to variable speed, as we already discussed in the previous question. In terms of technology trends, another


movement we see is the growing presence of plug-in applications, which are the ones where the compressor is installed directly inside the refrigeration equipment, in opposition to remote solutions, where you have a machine room somewhere in the store generating the cold and distributing it to the equipment through pipes under the floor.


In the case of plug-in systems, the trend is using R290 as refrigerant, and in the case of remote systems, the choice has been of CO2


,


which is also a natural refrigerant, or low GWP chemical blends as refrigerant. So, all in all, the movement toward natural refrigerants is confirmed for both refrigeration systems configurations.


What about food service? Restaurants, bars, catering, and other services are a fragmented, dynamic market in need of reliable and cost-effective refrigeration appliances. As a reflection, the manufacturers of these equipment also compose a very fragmented landscape, with a big number of small and medium OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) operating in it. For this reason, the trend in this sector is opting for complete cooling systems, such as condensing units, which come pre-assembled to apply into the refrigeration equipment, making the installation easier and faster, instead of buying the compressor from one provider and all the other parts from others, and assembling the system in the factory to then plug it in the equipment. It not only saves time, but allows the manufacturers to focus their labor force on their core business, which is the appliance as a whole. Also, due to recent Eco-Design regulations and possibly future ones in Europe, we do expect that for the equipment manufacturers to reach high energy classes, variable speed will be a key solution to support this industry to reduce the energy consumption of the applications.


Refrigeration for the health and science sector has been in the spotlight due to the need for cooling the vaccines during the pandemic. What are the trends and demands in this sector?


This is a segment that demands extreme reliability. The loss of a blood sample, a vaccine, a medicine, or of material from an ongoing research due to failures in the refrigeration equipment must be avoided at all costs, because this is a cargo that is connected with people’s health and, sometimes, life or death. For that reason, it is also a segment where the manufacturers of refrigeration equipment require leading technical expertise, high integration of solutions and elevated service levels from us. In terms of trends we see a higher concern with energy cost saving, due to the fact that energy prices have been increasing all over the world. This leads to the trend of adopting solutions based on variable speed technology. In addition, refrigeration applications for medical and scientific purposes have to stay on 24/7 and be able to operate even when there are voltage fluctuations, without shutting off the system. And variable speed speed is the technology to better respond to this demand as well.


What are other attributes being demanded by your customers other than energy efficiency?


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Energy efficiency is the key strategy for the refrigeration industry today.


We see a concern regarding noise reduction. It started in the residential refrigeration market and later reached some segments of commercial refrigeration, mainly for equipment installed in places with regulations regarding noise pollution and in commercial establishments that want to offer a better shopping experience for customers, with less noise. Additionally, with the transition to smaller stores, where the majority, if not all the applications, are plug-ins, the noise can become an issue if not taken into account, so adopting low noise products and technologies is key to keep the consumer experience positive.


How is the adherence to hydrocarbons as an alternative to HFCs in a global perspective? We have been researching and developing compressors with hydrocarbons (isobutane R600a and propane R290) since the early 1990s. Our case studies show that the intrinsic aspects of these refrigerants make them easier to operate, while delivering higher energy efficiency and low impact on global warming. For that reason, we believe that hydrocarbons are the future proof solution for plug-in cases. In Europe, the migration to R290 in self- contained cases is already a reality, boosted by regulations that started setting GWP limits in 2010. In North America, the penetration of R290 is also quite significant in self contained cases using the 150g limit. We will also see a new movement for


migration in ice makers and reach-ins with larger charges of refrigerant. In Brazil and Asia, except for Japan, we are seeing an expressive movement of migration as well. In Japan, where the market is more conservative, this movement of migration is much slower even if the larger charge is already allowed.


What are the biggest challenges and opportunities in the European market? As we said before, providing more energy efficiency is the key strategy for the refrigeration industry today. We see it as a global trend, but in Europe it is even stronger due to the energy crisis the region is facing currently. It is a big challenge but also an opportunity to accelerate the migration to more technological, efficient and future proof solutions.


www.acr-news.com • May 2023 25


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