Join the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) for a FREE overview of natural refrigerants. Hear about the many refrigerant-related challenges the food retail industry faces and how to avoid them. Learn how natural refrigerants can give you a competitive advantage over others.
NASRC recently welcomed two new staff members: Adriane Lepage and Morgan Smith. With our growing team, we are confident that we will be able to tackle the hurdles to natural refrigerants even more effectively!
NASRC launched a new petition that calls for the expedited revision of existing codes and standards to allow for greater use of low-GWP refrigerants in commercial refrigeration. We are calling for industry to voice their support by signing a petition for faster action on codes and standards.
NASRC has launched our new Natural Refrigerants Service Network designed to help end users connect contractors and service technicians who are trained to install and service natural refrigerant systems. The network is free and easy to use for both contractors and end users.
The California Cooling Act, which was introduced by Senator Lara on February 7th, proposes a new incentive program to support California businesses and residents as they adopt low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants.
We are proud to share that the good work and smiling face of Bryan Beitler are featured in the August, 2017 edition of Accelerate America.
NASRC held a natural refrigerants seminar focused on both the barriers and case studies of successful projects. 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.
In 2016, the Kigali Amendment updated the Montreal Protocol to gain global commitment to the phasedown of HFCs. Developed countries, like the United States, will be required to begin reducing HFC production and import of HFCs in 2019. This reduction is expected to correlate to increased HFC prices, especially those with high GWP.
Retailers are experiencing the painful transition from R-22 as prices have doubled, or even tripled, with no end in sight. The question retailers need to consider next is whether the commitments made by the United States under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol will drive similar price increases for R-404A and R-407A.
Danfoss has scheduled their CO2 Mobile Unit to stop in Boise, as one of two locations in the United States, before continuing on its world tour. NASRC will hold a Natural Refrigerant Seminar to provide an overview of natural refrigerants, the benefits and challenges, and see a live CO2 transcritical system.
NASRC interviewed Frank Davis, Director of Facility Engineering at Sprouts Farmers Market, for his perspective and experience with natural refrigerants.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has announced the launch of a new pilot program that will provide incentives for direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction.
NASRC was recognized by the National Steering Committee (NSC) of Small Business Environmental Assistance Programs (SBEAPs), and Small Business Ombudsmen (SBO) for its leadership nationwide in the areas of compliance assistance, sustainability, advocacy and collaboration.
Find out what you need to know about EPA refrigerant regulations and policy including the R-22 phaseout, EPA's SNAP program and compliance with section 608.
Learn about the latest developments in natural refrigerant technology, and network with the leading companies in this space, at the ATMOsphere America conference.
Steve Barbier of Key Mechanical shared his experience working with Whole Foods Market on the installation of the Propane and CO2 Cascade system at their Santa Clara facility.
The California Energy Commission adopted its investment plan for the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program. The plan supports the advancement of clean energy technologies, including projects that accelerate the use of refrigerants with low or zero global warming potential (GWP).
Over 70 commercial refrigeration stakeholders gathered on March 30th, 2017 in Sacramento, CA for an NASRC Natural Refrigeration Workshop.
NASRC is proud to offer its members and partners an exclusive site tour of a unique natural refrigeration system at the Whole Foods Market store in Santa Clara, CA. Attendees will get a first-hand look at the site's propane and CO2 cascade system.
The Department of Energy’s most recent energy efficiency standards take effect on March 27, 2017. The DOE says the rule will avoid 142 million metric tons of CO2 emissions over the next 30 years, and is estimated to save businesses nearly 12 billion dollars in utility bills over that same 30-year time frame.
Maybe you’ve heard the term TEWI (pronounced “teewee,”) an acronym for Total Equivalent Warming Impact. But what exactly is TEWI and why do we use it?
It’s hard to believe that 2017 is upon us. With just a few days left in the year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on all of the amazing work NASRC members have supported over the last 12 months.
For the first time ever we now have an open-source, comprehensive installation specification for transcritical CO2 systems, complete with user guide.
Countries and businesses around the world have made commitments that, when acted upon, will help decrease greenhouse gas emissions and hopefully limit the increase in global average temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius.
Along with a growing interest in CO2 refrigerants for food retail applications has come much discussion about the energy efficiency of CO2 systems, particularly with regard to two important factors: climate change performance and financial justification.
American consumers looking to make sustainable choices with their grocery shopping dollars may want to consider a new commitment by Target to climate-friendly refrigeration using propane.
Parties to the Montreal Protocol met last month to negotiate a global phase down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). John Kerry called the agreement, “one of the single most important unitary steps that we could possibly take at this moment to stave off the worst impacts of climate change…”
Utilities representatives and supermarket end-users recently met to develop solutions for incentivizing the use of natural refrigerants in supermarkets and convenience stores. More than 35 participants came together to make in-roads on developing and implementing natural refrigerant utility incentives.
NASRC was recently accepted as an Actor in the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), a voluntary international framework focused on taking action to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs).
Utilities are fundamentally driven to co-invest in energy efficiency with their customers. Many utilities have become quite sophisticated in their understanding of conventional refrigeration technology and how to make it more energy efficient. But very few of them understand natural refrigeration systems in the same way.
As natural and sustainable refrigerants—already the norm across Europe and much of Canada—slowly but steadily gain acceptance in the U.S. market, OEMs have a unique opportunity to educate retailers and contractors about working with natural refrigerant technology.
It’s been years since U.S. food retailers as a whole have made any significant new investment in backroom infrastructure. For decades, refrigeration technology remained largely unchanged, and retailers are focused on selling food, not upgrading facilities. Refrigeration equipment remains an afterthought until it’s time for repairs or scheduled maintenance.
The U.S. supermarket industry has moved rather deliberately toward the adoption of newer, less harmful refrigerant technology. However, accelerating the adoption of natural refrigerant technology will require strategic collaboration and cooperation by multiple groups both inside and outside the refrigeration industry.
As utilities, manufacturers and end-users work together to make newer, more energy efficient equipment more affordable through incentives, the lack of standard industry benchmarks makes the process complicated, fragmented and inconsistent.
Natural refrigerants have steadily gained acceptance in new construction installations, but there’s been a lingering misperception that it’s too difficult to make the switch from synthetic to natural refrigerants in a store renovation.
Did you know that an all-natural CO2 refrigeration application was available in the 1920s? Probably not. Thankfully, a 100-percent natural refrigerant grocery store is not only possible today, it can be easy — if you know how to make it so.
Much has been written over the past few months about the potential for utility incentives based on natural refrigerant use in supermarkets. The word “potential,” as well as the nature of the articles, suggests that utility incentives for naturals are a thing of the future. Not so! There are plenty of examples of successful incentive projects for stores that use natural refrigeration systems.
NASRC directors have been working with the government of California to create an incentive program that would prevent harmful refrigerant emissions. If approved, the Refrigerant Incentive Program will be the beginning of the end of supermarkets’ struggles with endless refrigerant phaseouts, regulations, and government refrigerant dictates
The ASHRAE 15 committee continues to update their refrigerant standard: ASHRAE/ANSI Standard 15-2013. This draft includes a ‘new’ category for A2L refrigerants. ASHRAE's 2L working group has issued an Advisory Public Review Draft in which they offer how A2Ls should be treated.
A group of environmental leaders in supermarket refrigeration have formed a new non-profit group called the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council. Its purpose is to bring together all supermarket industry stakeholder groups to tackle the hurdles of natural refrigerants.
Environmental leaders from all sectors of the supermarket refrigeration industry today announced a new nonprofit, the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC). NASRC’s mission is to help the supermarket industry transition to natural refrigerants, which are more ozone and climate friendly than traditional refrigerants.