The NASRC hosted a natural refrigerant workshop in Boise, Idaho on May 3rd, which sought to map the future and trends of various refrigerant options for refrigeration end-users. The event was attended by roughly sixty people from the commercial refrigeration industry including contractors, end-users, manufacturers, utilities, universities, nonprofits, and engineering firms. The workshop was sponsored by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Kysor Warren, DC Engineering, and Danfoss.
Keilly Witman of KW Refrigerant Management Strategy set the stage for the workshop with an overview of the "mega-trends" impacting commercial refrigerant options, which were mapped on paper walls around the room. Attendees were invited to contribute to the trend-mapping throughout the day by adding questions, comments, or takeaways from presenters.
For the remainder of the workshop, attendees heard about their equipment options and how the mega-trends will impact their adoption. Presenters included:
- Rusty Walker of Hillphoenix, who spoke about CO2 transcritical systems
- Randy Fernandez and Ignacio Chaparro of Kysor Warren, who spoke about ammonia systems
- Glenn Barrett of DC Engineering, who spoke about alternatives to rack systems, CO2 condensing units, and propane condensing units
- Todd Washburn of True Manufacturing, who spoke about propane self-contained systems
The day concluded with the construction of a timeline detailing the predicted evolution of mega-trends and providing insight about the future of natural refrigerant options. The workshop was filled with lively discussion about the future of natural refrigerants and commercial refrigeration.
Keep an eye out for future workshops on our events page!
Interested in hosting a natural refrigerant workshop in your area? Contact NASRC at info@nasrc.org.