Space conditioning indoor air typically involves more than just cooling. Occupant comfort requires moisture removal and air exchange with the outdoor air for improved indoor air quality (IAQ). Each of these aspects requires additional air conditioning capacity, resulting in drained condensate water and exhausted indoor air. What if there was a way to reclaim this capacity to improve the efficiency of the mechanical cooling system?
If there are trends in transport refrigeration, they concern quietness and precision. Noise reduction comes in because trucks often bring products to supermarkets conveniently located in residential areas — but with deliveries needed first thing in the morning. Enhanced temperature control is designed to preserve products at optimum shipping temperatures while controlling costs. Thermo King focused on such factors in the development of its SB-100 trailer refrigeration unit.
Each fall, the major trade association for the supermarket sector — the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) — holds an Energy and Technical Services Conference, with the prime purpose of bringing those who work on mechanical refrigeration equipment up to speed on the latest trends and technologies.
If an ultrasonic leak detector works in outer space in the hands of an astronaut, can it do the job on the ground when operated by an HVACR service technician? Yes, said a Westminster, MD-based manufacturer whose small, handheld leak detector has been used in both applications.
Just as successful supermarkets give customers what they want, suppliers of components for mechanical refrigeration for such stores are offering most anything a decision maker could possibly want. The recent Food Marketing Institute Educational Exposition stressed a wide range of options for cooling and freezing. All were linked by a commitment to energy conservation, from a basic coil to complex electrical distribution systems.
New directions in transport refrigeration involve cryogenics and carbon dioxide (CO2). Thermo King, in Minneapolis, MN, is using cryogenics technology to create what the company said is cleaner, quieter, and more efficient temperature control. The cryogenics transport refrigeration systems use liquid CO2, eliminating the need for ozone-depleting commercial refrigerants.
Coordinators of the PGA Tour annually include the FedEx/St. Jude Classic as a key stop on the tour. The fact that the stop is usually scheduled in late June means golfers and spectators alike get to experience Memphis at the height of its heat and humidity. During the most recent event, one of the popular locations was the Coleman Heating & Air Conditioning mobile display trailer. The air conditioned trailer, which showcased the company’s cooling and heating equipment, was a busy site.
In many ways, SkillsUSA-VICA is a number-crunching experience. Consider: Some 12,500 students, teachers, and business partners descend on Kansas City, MO, each summer for five days. Most of the time is set aside for speeches and seminars. One day is set aside for the SkillsUSA Championship. More than 4,000 vocational and technical students compete hands-on in 73 different trade, technical, and leadership fields.
The double whammy of time and cost rears its head when every association announces its annual conference. Count up the number of associations that any one person or company might be affiliated with and those time and cost concerns increase.
Sales Engineering, Contracting & Associates (SECA), a design-build mechanical contractor and purchasing agent, has worked with several Melia hotels over the years on various projects. Since the early 1990s, the firm has assisted 10 of the chain’s resorts, improving existing potable water systems and providing significant hot water cost reduction.
