CO2 is ideal alternative – Danfoss

USA: CO2 has been hailed as an ideal alternative refrigerant for large charge systems like supermarkets to reduce global warming impact.

Speaking at last month’s ATMOsphere America 2014 conference, Peter Dee, North America sales and services director at Danfoss, said “CO2 is an economically sustainable solution as well, offering lower lifecycle costs and improving energy savings by 10 to 20% through unique algorithms, such as gas cooler control and heat reclaim. Heat reclaim also makes it possible to achieve up to 95% reduction in refrigerant costs, allowing for supermarkets to obtain heating and cooling through one cost-effective system.”

Now in its third year, ATMOsphere America convened industry leaders in California to discuss the latest technologies, market trends and regulatory issues in the field of natural refrigerants. This also was the third year Danfoss was a sponsor of the conference.

To highlight the success of heat reclaim technology, Dee reviewed a project in which Danfoss helped to retrofit an 11,000ft2 store. One CO2 booster system with heat reclaim now provides energy for cooling, hot water, and comfort heating – but with annual operating savings of $35,000 and a 7% TEWI reduction, attributable to the heat reclaim.

In the United States, Danfoss recently completed a project with Whole Foods Market in Brooklyn  – a demonstration project that brought the first HFC-free supermarket to the United States in December 2013. During the conference, Dee discussed the role Danfoss played in the success of this new, 56,000ft² store, which features a transcritical CO2 refrigeration system, and a combined heat and power system that provides baseline electrical heating and cooling load.

Danfoss provided a comprehensive control solution for Whole Foods’ Brooklyn store, including refrigeration rack, case, and system controls, and supported the design of the store’s hvac system.