Articles by Peter Powell

As California goes, so goes the rest of the country. That adage has often proved true especially when it comes to regulations related to refrigeration and refrigerants. The state's aggressive environmental and regulatory positions have caused the rest of the United States to monitor policy making and enforcement out West.

Whatever the ratio between journeymen and apprentices might be, and however that ratio is determined, the one constant is the need for adequate training for all HVACR service personnel working on a job site. 

The aggressive environmental and regulatory positions in Sacramento have caused the rest of the U.S. to monitor policymaking and enforcement out West. And, more often than not, those policies have ended up as the blueprint for federal regulations.

CO₂ is primarily used in cascade systems that include ammonia, in booster systems in supermarkets, and as a stand-alone refrigerant for transcritical-configured systems.

So, supermarket owners want refrigeration systems that are energy efficient to hold down costs and pro-environmental for political correctness. But for engineers, contractors, and technicians that approach may not be all that easy, whether bringing a new store online or retrofitting an existing one.

A demonstration of complex — but ultimately valuable — developments when it comes to supermarket refrigeration is a project conducted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

This is my last Point of View commentary for The NEWS’ FROSTlines eNewsletter. By the time you read this, I will have been retired for several weeks. FROSTlines was a new venture for The NEWS when it began a few years ago. It was set to focus totally on refrigeration and it would be online only.

Terminology talk at the AHR Expo focused on variable-speed compressors, electronically commutated motors (ECMs), and variable-capacity systems as well as diagnostics and troubleshooting tools for contractors.

The No. 1 trend in HVAC refrigeration is the increase in R-22 prices as the supply-demand equation sorts itself out. 

Not only are modulating gas condensing boilers more efficient, but they’re easier to operate, as many come designed with Internet connectivity and controls. In turn, contractors are enjoying the simplified installation procedures and maintenance routines such new-age boilers provide.