There is always plenty of activity taking place on the HVACR side of the supermarket and restaurant industries. Here’s a quick look at eight items of note.

DANFOSS’S SMART STORE SOLUTION

Danfoss’s Smart Store solution is designed to allow retailers to achieve optimal performance and save money on energy. The Smart Store can enhance food safety and reduce energy bills through integrated control of refrigeration, HVAC, lighting, and other applications. Danfoss reps tout the Smart Store solution is operating in more than 5,000 stores worldwide and providing savings of up to 50 percent per store.

The Smart Store comprises several features designed to significantly reduce the energy used by refrigerated display cases and freezers, including adaptive superheat using electronic evaporators and valves to ensure the level of refrigeration meets the exact needs of the system. Flexibility in energy demand or smart grid integration can also be a part of the solution. According to Danfoss, compressor load shedding in supermarkets can reduce energy demands by as much as 80 percent for short periods of time.

Continuous data collection and analysis enables automatic hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) reporting and ongoing optimization of energy efficiency. Smart Store also offers electronically delivered services to optimize daily operations and free up resources in store and chain management.

“What we’re seeing is centered on connectivity between building management, controls, energy consumption, and, in some areas, water usage,” said Peter Dee, sales and services director, Danfoss North America. “The Smart Store solution allows retailers to meet their stores’ needs while adhering to the demands of their state or region. The Smart Store is a thorough turn-key solution.”

For more information, visit Danfoss’ Smart Store site at http://bit.ly/DanfossSmartStore.

HONEYWELL’S SOLSTICE N40 RETROFITTED IN LOWE’S 

Honeywell announced its Solstice^® N40 (R-448A), which it recognizes as a reduced GWP (global warming potential) supermarket refrigerant, is helping lower the carbon footprint and increase energy efficiency at the Lowe’s Market in Eunice, New Mexico.

The supermarket replaced 20 medium- and low-temperature display cases that utilized R-404A refrigerant in a Hussmann Corp. system with Solstice N40 in 2015. Thus far, the cases’ performance has exceeded expectations.

“The refrigerant is performing better than expected,” said Gary Cooper, director of refrigeration, Lowe’s Market. “By transitioning our stores to Solstice N40 refrigerant, we are increasing our energy efficiency by 5 percent or more and lowering the carbon footprint of this equipment by more than two-thirds while cost-effectively meeting current and future energy efficiency and environmental regulations.”

Solstice N40 is a hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) blend for low- and medium-temperature refrigeration equipment, such as supermarket refrigerated and freezer display cases. It is a near drop-in replacement for R-404A and R-507 and can also be used to replace R-22. Solstice N40 has a GWP of 1,273. It is non-ozone-depleting and nonflammable.

According to Honeywell reps, in supermarket trials conducted in the U.S. and Europe, Solstice N40 demonstrated 3 percent lower energy consumption in low-temperature applications and 5-16 percent lower energy consumption in medium-temperature applications compared with R-404A.

“Supermarket owners are looking for more energy-efficient and environmentally preferable refrigerants,” said Robert Kebby, global business manager for Honeywell’s commercial refrigeration business. With superior energy efficiency and a global warming potential that is 68 percent lower than R-404A, Solstice N40 offers supermarkets a near drop-in replacement that can best serve their refrigerant needs while meeting environmental requirements.”

For more information, visit www.honeywellrefrigerants.com.

EMBRACO’S PLUG N’ COOL PROVIDES ENERGY SAVINGS IN REACH-INS

Embraco’s Plug n’ Cool, a complete cooling system designed for reach-in coolers in grocery stores, supermarkets, and professional kitchens, uses the natural refrigerant R-290, which has zero ozone-depletion potential (ODP) and low GWP.

According to Embraco, Plug n’ Cool offers a plug-and-play solution that simplifies the installation process, which allows design engineers to easily build market-ready, water-cooled display systems. Plug n’ Cool allows owners to move machines piece by piece, which provides flexibility in the store layout based on specific needs and preferences.

Embraco recently analyzed reach-ins in a supermarket using remote refrigeration with direct expansion and compared the same equipment using the Plug n’ Cool. The study found that the Plug n’ Cool reduced the refrigerant charge by 98 percent (330 pounds to 6 pounds), thus reducing overall energy consumption. The study also calculated the total equivalent warming impact (TEWI) and compared the results for the Plug n’ Cool and the conventional remote system. According to Embraco’s TEWI analysis, considering both direct and indirect emissions, if 10 percent of supermarkets in the U.S. migrated to the Plug n’ Cool, it would prevent the impact of 12.7 million tons of CO₂ from being released into the atmosphere each year.

“With the upcoming change in regulations in the U.S., it is now more important than ever that store owners begin using advanced energy-efficient technologies,” said Michel Moreira, North America CCS sales manager, Embraco. “Not only does Plug n’ Cool reduce the impact on the environment, it will also reduce long-term utility costs for business owners.”

For more information, visit www.embraco.com.

REFRIGERATION BOOSTS CAFÉ’S GREEN MISSION

When the word green is in a restaurant’s name, sustainability had better play a significant part in that diner’s culinary story. After all, when patrons visit a green restaurant, they expect a dining experience in an environment that exudes green and supports sustainable principles.

The Green Sage Café, with three locations in Asheville, North Carolina, embraced this challenge by collaborating with Refrigeration Design Technologies (RDT) to implement an eco-friendly refrigeration system design. RDT provides the food service industry with advanced refrigeration rack systems, refrigeration monitoring devices, and intuitive defrost control systems.

At Green Sage, RDT provided one of its Eco-Cool refrigeration systems, based on the Copeland Scroll Digital™ compressor.

The system minimizes the compressors needed to provide refrigeration, servicing eight fixtures in the café’s medium-temperature suction group with one 4-horsepower (hp) Copeland Scroll Digital compressor that has the ability to digitally modulate capacity from 10-100 percent.

“Instead of eight compressors kicking on and off, pulling full run-load amps each time, you have a single compressor running at only the capacity needed to meet the load,” said Brent Dyess, president, RDT.

Dyess originally estimated the system would provide the restaurant up to 30 percent in annual energy savings, but a UL energy study comparing a multiplex system (with one Copeland Scroll Digital compressor servicing six fixtures) to a conventional system found savings of 48 percent.

In addition, placing the Eco-Cool unit outside the restaurant and removing condenser surface areas that are present on each fixture in conventional systems eliminated 53,856 Btuh of heat, which is the equivalent of 4.5 ton of air conditioning.

The Eco-Cool system also captures its waste heat and diverts it into a heat exchanger that provides heat for the restaurant’s hot water tank.

The Eco-Cool refrigeration system — along with other sustainable elements, such as solar panels, energy-efficient dishwashers, and LED lighting — helped the Green Sage Café earn recognition from the Green Restaurant Association as a certified green restaurant.

For more information, visit rdtonline.com.

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC UNIT A GOOD FIT FOR RESTAURANT’S BASEMENT

When Inamo restaurant took over a new site in London’s Hanover Place near fashionable Covent Garden, the space required a complete electrical and mechanical update.

Mechanical and electrical contractor Synecore executed a complete survey of the site and decided to strip out the existing R-22 variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system, which was not compliant with European F-Gas regulations. For the restaurant’s two upper levels, a new VRF system and ducted fan coils took the place of the original system. In the basement, however, Synecore had to contend with limited space and airflow as well as a low ceiling height.

Synecore found a solution in the Mitsubishi Electric City Multi PFFY-P-VLRM-E floor-standing concealed indoor unit with 5.6-kW cooling and 6.3-kW heating. The unit’s compact size posed the most practical solution for such an enclosed space. It could be hidden behind a stud wall and situated at the floor level, thus overcoming the lack of space and ceiling height.

Gary Piper, Synecore’s national sales manager, said, “The combination of its unobtrusiveness, compact size, and highly efficient heating and cooling properties make the Mitsubishi Electric VLRM system ideal for basement refurbishments and areas where space and airflow can be an issue. It’s easy to install and is a highly efficient unit.”

For more information, visit http://www.synecore.co.uk.

NATURAL REFRIGERANTS COMBINE AT FOOD MANUFACTURING FACILITY

Cimco Refrigeration Inc., Southern California Edison (SCE), and Mayekawa Manufacturing Co. are collaborating to develop, build, install, and research a new refrigeration system using natural refrigerant alternatives. The team recently installed a high-efficiency industrial refrigeration system at a food manufacturing facility in Irvine, California, that caters to Japanese restaurants. The researchers expect the system to provide a 20-50 percent energy savings.

The NewTon refrigeration system uses ammonia and CO₂ to achieve a higher level of efficiency and energy savings than conventional refrigeration systems. Mayekawa will monitor the refrigeration system in real time for the operator. SCE will gather and analyze the performance data on both the NewTon and the existing refrigeration system, which can alternate operation at the Imuraya USA plant, which manufactures desserts for Japanese restaurants.

Mayekawa said its research shows that ice arenas achieved an average of 50 percent reduction in energy, cold storage facilities showed an average energy reduction of 27.8 percent, and freezers at processing plants showed an average reduction of 20 percent of electricity consumption using this new refrigeration system.

The team expects to complete its research on the new refrigeration system by the end of 2016 and will issue its first update in early 2017.

For more information on Cimco Refrigeration, visit www.cimcorefrigeration.com. For more information on Mayekawa, visit www.mayekawa.com.

ALDI DECICCO & SONS STORES EARN PLATINUM GREENCHILL

ALDI stores in Webster and West Carthage, New York, and the DeCicco & Sons store in Larchmont, New York, have earned Platinum GreenChill certification — the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) highest sustainability award for food retailers.

All of the stores have installed Hillphoenix Advansor CO₂ booster systems, which use carbon dioxide-based refrigerant with a GWP rating of 1. The ALDI stores also employ Hillphoenix closed-door refrigerated cases equipped with energy-conserving technologies.

According to John DeCicco Jr., president of the six-store DeCicco & Sons grocery chain, the CO₂ refrigeration system also cuts energy costs and reduces product shrink because it keeps temperatures more consistent than traditional systems.

“We get two to three more days of shelf life from meat merchandised in CO₂ cases,” DeCicco said.

Other sustainable features in DeCicco & Sons’ Larchmont store include rooftop solar panels that supply more than half the store’s electricity, energy-efficient LED lighting, and water-saving fixtures and appliances.

DeCicco said the idea for the ecofriendly store was born when he began working with a local utility on ways to reduce energy consumption in his other stores. In those conversations, he discovered the potential savings and sustainability that could be achieved in a fully green operation.

“Our customers really do care that we are lowering emissions and reducing waste in their community,” DeCicco said.

Tom Land, manager of the EPA’s GreenChill Partnership, said achieving GreenChill certification is good for the environment and for grocers’ businesses. “What we’ve seen through our GreenChill program is that consumers want to shop in stores that share their environmental values. By being dedicated to GreenChill standards, these stores demonstrate their interest in maintaining environmentally sustainable operations.”

Visit www.hillphoenix.com for more information.

CONVENTION CENTER EARNS REBATE AFTER FOOD SERVICE RETROFIT

The San Diego Convention Center is a 2.6 million-square-foot facility that spans eight city blocks, employs 550 people, and has hosted more than 5,500 events since opening in 1989.

Food service is one of the cornerstones of the convention center’s operations. It houses two kitchens: the West kitchen, which houses walk-in coolers and freezers with individual condensing units, and the East kitchen, which includes three walk-in coolers and one walk-in freezer that were all controlled via a multiplexed condensing system.

When the convention center’s operations staff learned of the potential increased energy savings, uptime, and potential local utility energy rebate, it began to explore condensing unit replacements for the East kitchen coolers and freezer. Working with Emerson Climate Technologies Inc., it was determined that Copeland Scroll™ X-Line Series outdoor condensing units could replace the existing multiplex system to deliver enhanced reliability and energy savings. Available in 1.5-6 hp, the X-Line Series combines Copeland Scroll compressor technology, variable-speed fan motor control, large condenser coils, a high-efficiency fan blade design, and CoreSense™ diagnostics to provide key information to field technicians.

As a result of the retrofit, the convention center reduced its energy usage, enhanced system efficiency, and was awarded a rebate check in the amount of $5,000 from the San Diego Gas & Electric energy-efficiency rebate program. In addition, replacement of the multiplex system with individual compressors boosted reliability and reduced the chances of complete system failure, said Emerson reps.

Emerson also said the center’s operations staff expects the new condensing units will provide an added benefit in terms of their corrosion resistance. As the convention center is located just 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean, the salt air caused considerable corrosion issues on the old system’s aluminum fins.

For more information, visit www.emersonclimate.com.

Publication date: 9/5/2016

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