Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/447632
32 FEDA News & Views Foster Frable New Developments in Foodservice Refrigeration By Foster Frable Jr., Clevenger Frable LaVallee fosterf@cfldesign.com F ew issues are more urgent to the foodservice equipment industry than the imminent changes in refrigerants and associated equipment. The conversion to natural refriger- ants is as significant as the adaption of the Montreal Protocol in the late 1980s, where gases known to be ozone deplet- ing (chlorofluorocarbons—CFCs and hydro-chlorofluorocar- bons—HCFCs) were replaced with hydroflorocarbons (HFCs). The European Union has led the shift toward natural refriger- ants with the phase-out of CFCs and HCFCs beginning January 1, 2015. Much of the technology required for the new refriger- ants (reviewed in this article) have already been developed and tested. With some equipment types in Europe, like beverage display cases and vending machines, the new refrigerants have been in use for several years. Regulatory Changes in the U.S. Following the regulatory changes in Europe, the EPA has recommended that equipment requiring high GWP (global warming potential) refrigerants (R134A, 404A or R507) should not be sold as of January 1, 2016. At the current time, these proposed rules are not yet finalized but are expected to be implemented. Although new equipment using these refrigerants will no longer be produced if new regulations pass, repairs and replacement parts for existing sys- tems will continue to be offered for an (as of now) unspecified period of time. With new regulations, the only compliant refrigerant options for self-contained refrigeration will be R290 and R744. Additionally, the EPA will likely not allow the R407-series refrigerants in self-contained cases because they have a higher GWP than R134A. The new rules currently propose exceptions for systems with floor areas in excess of 3,000 square feet, or installations using water-cooled condens- ing units. From a technical standpoint, these new refrigerants (along with alternates like propane and CO2) can accommodate most foodservice applications. In a large facility, multiple solutions may be required. Meeting EPA requirements is challenging, however, and is often in direct conflict with DOE (Department of Energy) mandates to reduce energy use for commercial foodservice equipment. In some applications, the alternate refrigerants do not perform as well as the ones they have replaced, and in others, alternate refrigerants can be more effi- cient—e.g., R290 (propane) versus R404A. With lower perfor- mance equipment, energy requirements for compressors and pumps increase, which is the opposite of the DOE objective. A major challenge with no current solution is how to manu- facture energy-efficient, low-temperature coils and defrost systems (freezers). Currently, DOE energy-compliant low- temperature evaporators are not available in sizes appropriate for foodservice, and there is little hope they will become available any time before January, 2017. Small matched systems (compressor and coil are part of the same pack- age) may be acceptable, but they are expensive for end users because they need a matched system for each walk-in fixture. In large freezers, two or three coils may be required to replace a single coil using currently compliant technol- ogy. In systems with multiple walk-in freezers, a rack system would provide relief, but only for a limited period of time until the rack exception is waived. June 5, 2017, is the cut-off date for shipping non-compliment equipment. For complex proj- ects with long construction periods, designers will need to specify products compatible with new standards: the problem is that those com- pliant products may not even exist in today's market. This is a particularly big challenge for projects that will be designed in 2015-2016 and won't have equipment instal- lations until late 2017 or 2018. Parallel refrigeration systems avoid this problem, but in today's market the available sizes are only appropriate for facilities like hospitals, large hotels, and casinos. Small restaurant and small-format retail locations do not have the refrigeration load to support traditional paral- lel systems. In addition, the cost of the controller and the rack housing will likely eliminate the payback from such a system. New 4 HP rack systems currently in development could pro- vide a solution, but the economics need to pencil. Meeting EPA requirements is challenging and is often in direct conflict with DOE (Department of Energy) mandates to reduce energy use for commercial foodservice equipment.