Presenters Keilly Witman, KW RMS and NASRC Board Chair and Danielle Wright, NASRC
The NASRC held a natural refrigerants seminar focused on both the barriers and case studies of successful projects. The seminar was held in two half-day sessions on July 17th, 2017, at the DC Engineering offices in Meridian near Boise, Idaho. Over thirty representatives from the supermarket refrigeration industry attended, including retailers, such as Albertsons and Whole Foods, as well as contractors, consultants, utilities and local state agencies.
Keilly Witman, KW RMS, presents a regulatory overview
Attendees received an overview of the environmental impacts of supermarket refrigeration, which are largely due to refrigerant leaks. Keilly Witman, formerly of the EPA GreenChill Partnership, presented and the policies and regulations that have been put in place by the government to mitigate these impacts.
Government regulations are just one of many hurdles that supermarkets face when considering natural refrigerant systems and equipment. Danielle Wright, Executive Director of NASRC, provided an overview of the primary barriers such as first costs, availability of service and codes and standards. These are hurdles that NASRC is taking action to overcome.
Glenn Barrett, DC Engineering, presents a case study
Case studies were presented by DC Engineering and CTA Group. The projects featured various types of system architectures including CO2 transcritical, CO2/Ammonia cascade and CO2/propane cascade systems. Additionally, a small format store with CO2 transcritical with integrated HVAC for both cooling and heat reclaim. The presentations focused on the energy impacts, design considerations and lessons learned from each project.
Dwain Mayer, Danfoss, showcases the CO2 Mobile Training Unit
Attendees also had the opportunity to view a live demonstration of a transcritical CO2 system provided by Danfoss mobile CO2 training unit. Danfoss also provided a series of 2-day hands-on trainings targeted to service technicians and contractors.
To learn more about hosting a natural refrigerants seminar in your area, please contact NASRC at info@nasrc.org.