ATLANTA — Sprouts Farmers Market announced that it is opening a new store in the metro-Atlanta area using CO2 refrigeration. According to the company, it will be the first CO2-based supermarket refrigeration system in a warm weather market in North America.
Sprouts’ new store opens on July 18 in Dunwoody, Georgia, and will run on a Hillphoenix Advansor transcritical CO2 booster system. The company noted that retailers and engineers in North America have widely questioned whether a CO2 transcritical system could be operated efficiently in areas where the ambient temperature climbs above 85°F. Transcritical CO2 refrigeration systems are normally limited to colder climates due to the limitations of air-cooled gas coolers. The key to Sprouts’ new system is a proprietary TrilliumSeries™ hybrid evaporative condenser designed for Hillphoenix by Baltimore Aircoil Co.
“We worked with Baltimore Aircoil to develop a new product that’s a hybrid evaporative condenser adapted for use with CO2,” said Scott Martin, director, sustainable technologies at Hillphoenix. “Evaporative condensers offer energy savings by providing lower system condensing temperatures than conventional air-cooled or water-cooled condensing systems.”
With its new Dunwoody store, Sprouts aims to change the industry’s notions about warm climate operation of transcritical CO2 systems, demonstrating that it is a viable option for retailers seeking a more sustainable, energy efficient refrigeration option.
“Central to Sprouts’ identity is a genuine commitment to responsible retailing,” said Ted Frumkin, senior vice president of business development, Sprouts Farmers Market. “This innovative partnership with Hillphoenix helps Sprouts reduce waste and our environmental impact, which we know is important to our customers and our team members.”
For more information about Sprouts Farmers Market, visit www.sprouts.com. For more information about Hillphoenix, visit www.hillphoenix.com.
Publication date: 7/7/2014
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