ANDY Butler, head of r&d at Space Engineering and his team have developed what is believed to be the first UK-manufactured transcritical CO2 refrigeration plant for retail applications.
Designed specifically for the convenience store market, the new plant for medium temperature cooling (dairy, meat, etc), is designed to operate at higher temperatures than a normal HFC system.

Additionally it includes a heat reclaim system that can complement an existing heating infrastructure. The first installation, for example, will be using this recovered heat to complement an under-floor-heating system.

Butler said: 'One of the obstacles to the widespread installation of CO2 plant has been a perceived need for specially fabricated stainless steel components. The system we have developed is designed to allow standard copper refrigeration components to be installed on the sales floor and at the display cabinets. This means that the skill set and parts required for installation will be the same as for a standard system.'

Easy to install, the system is designed to work with standard display cabinets that incorporate a reworked evaporator.
'Most of the major manufacturers are developing such cabinets, and they will become more common as the use of CO2 systems increases,' concludes Butler.

Tesco store

A Space Engineering Services CO2 plant was included in a new Tesco flagship Express store in Hinckley, Leicestershire, which opened in June 2008.

In addition, recent work with Tesco has also seen the development of new RPA units specifically to suit the needs of individual stores.

'We recently replaced 48 existing NRC roof units with new RPA units' said Butler. 'The units operate at a higher ambient temperature, with a lower design condensing temperature and offer greater efficiencies with the latest scroll technology and EC fan sets.

'Designed to fit on the same footprint as the old NRC unit, we can ensure minimal disruption and impact when the units are changed.
'Our next challenge will be to produce an RPA unit to operate with a natural refrigerant and our convenience store design will be easily adapted for this, providing the ultimate solution to the replacement of HFC NRC roof units.'

Space Engineering
0117 977 8833