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comment EPA Partnership Focuses on Commercial Refrigeration
In the average U.S. supermarket, condensers in the back of the store running the centralized refrigeration system require 4,000 pounds of HCFC-22, the common refrigerant used to charge the systems. Pipes carry the refrigerant to the various refrigerated cases throughout the store, but 20 to 25 percent of the refrigerant leaks out annually, escaping into the atmosphere, where it depletes the Earth’s protective ozone layer and contributes to the greenhouse gas effect, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
This refrigeration system from GreenChill partner Kysor/Warren is installed close to refrigerated cases, reducing refrigerant leaks
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The financial and environmental costs of these leaks are significant, and the use and sale of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) is subject to an international phaseout schedule set by the Montreal Protocol and legislated in the U.S. by the Clean Air Act. As of 2010, HCFCs will no longer be produced in or imported to the U.S., except for equipment manufactured prior to that date; by 2020, all U.S. production and imports will stop. EPA has partnered with the supermarket industry, as well as chemical and equipment manufacturers, to create GreenChill, a program aimed at promoting new technologies that eliminate the use of HCFC-22 and lower the energy use of refrigeration systems.
The financial costs of HCFC-22 leakage and technology research make supermarkets eager to partner with GreenChill and begin sharing information about new technologies. According to Keilly Witman, a communications specialist at EPA, “There’s a competitive advantage in belonging to GreenChill because you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for yourself,” in determining how to reduce refrigerant use and energy costs.
GreenChill partners intend to install and measure the performance of two types of advanced refrigeration technology, explained Dave Godwin, an environmental engineer at EPA. Either technology can reduce the amount of refrigerant needed to charge a typical system to about 800 pounds and can be switched to refrigerants other than HCFC-22 as they become available.
The first technology, distributed refrigeration, uses small condensers located closer to the refrigerated cases they serve (typically on the roof) to reduce piping lengths, which lowers the amount of refrigerant needed to charge the system and limits leakage. The second technology, secondary loop refrigeration, is similar to current systems in that it locates the condenser in the back of the store. The condenser cools another fluid, usually water and glycol, which is circulated to the cases instead, creating less opportunity for leakage of refrigerant.
GreenChill is working with its partners to track the performance of these systems and compare it to the performance of similar stores with conventional refrigeration systems. According to Witman, the supermarkets among the ten initial industry partners (Food Lion, Giant Eagle, Hannaford, Harris Teeter, Publix, and Whole Foods) have begun submitting baseline performance data and will work with EPA to develop refrigerant and energy use reduction plans. They need the baseline data to set reduction goals, said Witman, who noted that “our goal is to set challenging goals.”
For more information:
Keilly Witman, Communications Specialist
GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership
Washington, D.C.
202-343-9742
witman.keilly@epamail.epa.gov
www.epa.gov/ozone/partnerships/greenchill/
This article was produced by BuildingGreen, Inc.- www.buildinggreen.com
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