ATLANTA — Embraco showcased its vision for the future of refrigeration, with energy-efficient offerings that are compatible with natural refrigerant propane (R-290). With over 20 years of experience in natural refrigerants, Embraco’s compressor portfolio features products for commercial food service, food retail, merchandisers, and aftermarket segments. Conveniently, the booth was sectioned into these four different segments, so AHR Expo attendees could easily find the R-290 solution they were looking for.

For the food service segment, Embraco highlighted its NEX, NTX, and NJX solutions that are available for reach-ins and freezers, bar coolers, ice makers, prep tables, and under-counter applications. These next-generation solutions are compatible with R-290 and deliver the same robustness and reliability as the previous generation, said John Prall, senior manager of technical support, Embraco.

“These products essentially do more with less — we’re stretching and improving the platform,” he said. “Our new solutions offer an enhanced energy efficiency of up to 10 percent and an extended cooling capacity, while the NJX is compact and offers 20 percent less height than a two-cylinder option.”

For the small-format food retail segment, Embraco showcased its Plug n’ Cool, a pre-charged, sealed system designed as a drop-in solution for reach-in and walk-in refrigerators, with a simplified installation process for faster store commissioning and recommissioning. No machine room is needed, which increases the merchandising area, optimizing floor space.

The innovative modular design with zero leakage allows for potential internal volume increase and improves the experience for OEMs; end users, such as food retail chains; and consumers by increasing the flexibility of the store’s architecture. Additionally, the required maintenance is simple and affordable. Prall said it is a perfect solution for smaller urban stores, which are becoming more popular around the country.

The Plug n’ Cool is available for beverage dispensers, reach-ins (air cooled or water cooled), vending machines, and cold rooms. It uses R-290, which complies with U.S. standards, and was specifically designed with top efficiency components.

For merchandiser applications, Embraco showcased its full portfolio of solutions, which is designed to deliver improved efficiency by up to 30 percent and reach target temperatures up to 70 percent faster. Each solution is compatible with R-290, including the Embraco Fullmotion variable-speed compressor FMF lineup and single-speed solutions EMC lineup for reach-in refrigerators, vertical freezers and beverage coolers, bottle coolers, and refrigerated and frozen islands applications.

As for aftermarket products, Embraco featured its full line of condensing units and compressors and genuine replacement parts — relays, overloads, start caps, and run caps. All service parts are under warranty and compatible with a wide variety of applications, including commercial reach-ins, vertical freezers, bottle coolers, and residential household refrigerators and wine coolers.

THE WAY OF THE FUTURE

Looking ahead, Embraco believes that natural refrigerants — especially HCs — are the ideal solution for the future of refrigeration, as they sustainably align economic and environmental needs.

“We are following the trend that we’ve seen since 2014 in the U.S. and preparing our portfolio for HCs,” said Michel Moreira, senior manager of commercial sales, Embraco. “We still offer products for customers who use HFCs or HFO blends, but we believe that R-290 is the optimal solution going forward.”

Prall noted that one of the biggest benefits of using propane refrigeration equipment is that it is simpler to install and service than HFC units because there are no thermostatic expansion valves (TXVs) or receivers.

“Almost all bottle coolers use HCs, and by 2021, all domestic refrigerators will utilize isobutane,” he said. “As for safety, there is no danger, because only non-sparking components are used, so there is minimal risk to using propane units. And OEMs design the equipment to be very robust, with reduced brazing points, which makes a big difference.”

Publication date: 2/18/2019

Want more HVAC industry news and information? Join The NEWS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn today!