Emerson Climate Technologies announced on Jan. 27 that it had published a white paper that addresses a variety of topics, including new Energy Star standards, new legislation affecting refrigerated display cases, and required certifications for commercial foodservice equipment.

The paper is titled “Status of Energy Regulations for Commercial Refrigeration Equipment.” Among the topics it addresses are:

• Energy Star standard v3.0 for ice machines which went into effect Feb. 1, 2013. The new levels require a 7-10 percent energy improvement over previous specifications. New efficiency standards for reach-ins will go into effect April 2014. Version 3.0 will be based on the top 25 percent of energy performers.

• Legislation H.R. 6582 is the American Energy Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act that has become law. This law lessens the regulatory burden on deli-style display cases by making service-over-the-counter (SOTC) refrigerator units a separate product classification.

• Required certifications for commercial foodservice equipment. In this case, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requires refrigerated foodservice equipment manufacturers to submit annual reports to the DOE certifying compliance of their basic models with applicable standards. Individual models can be grouped as a “basic model” such that the certified rating for the basic model matches the represented rating for all the included models. The DOE may at any time test a basic model to assess whether it is in compliance with the applicable energy conservation standards.

“Contractors, OEMs, and retailers need the most current information in order to comply with the latest changes in our industry’s regulations,” said Rajan Rajendran, Ph.D., vice president, engineering services and sustainability, Emerson Climate Technologies.

In addition, the white paper updates these topics:

• Maximum daily energy use calculations for reach-in coolers;

• Energy usage and U.S. population;

• Options for walk-in freezer doors;

• Maximum daily energy use for ice machines;

• LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) v4;

• California Title 24 for supermarkets.

Emerson also facilitates an energy rebate program for the Copeland Scroll™ outdoor condensing unit (XJ Series) for commercial refrigeration. This free service enables wholesalers and contractors to identify and process rebates for these products. They range in sizes from 1.5 to 6 hp.

Supermarkets

In another refrigeration-related development from Emerson, it announced Emerson Climate Technologies Retail Solutions Inc. has launched a service offering for supermarket customers called condition-based maintenance.

According to an announcement, condition-based maintenance “gives supermarkets advanced and increased visibility into equipment performance and maintenance practices. With condition-based maintenance, maintenance is performed based on the equipment condition, servicing the equipment before it has deteriorated to the point where it may fail if not serviced. Retailers can see typical equipment maintenance savings of 18-40 percent with condition-based maintenance, compared to preventive maintenance or run to failure.”

“Similar to automotive diagnostics systems that alert users when the vehicle has low tire pressure or needs oil changes, Emerson’s condition-based maintenance service provides retailers with the ability to perform maintenance proactively before equipment failure, and more importantly, before a potential problem is noticed by the customer,” said James Mitchell, product manager at Emerson Climate Technologies Retail Solutions. “With advanced awareness of potential maintenance problems, supermarkets can better utilize resources to serve their customers, as well as reduce equipment failure rates, energy costs, and maintenance overtime charges.”

Emerson’s condition-based maintenance service leverages algorithms that compare equipment sensor data of expected behavior against actual equipment behavior to detect anomalies. Advisories are issued based on the equipment condition and can be forwarded to Emerson’s ProAct Service Center where, as part of the Smart Dispatch service, technicians perform triage of all advisories and cross-reference against other potentially related store alarms or events, such as setpoint changes, recent work orders, or past alarms, to determine the optimized dispatching of technicians.

The condition-based maintenance software supports Emerson’s E2 control system and Copeland Discus™ compressors with CoreSense™ Diagnostics, allowing retailers to realize new maintenance and energy management value from their existing Emerson equipment.

Publication date: 3/18/2013