Bitzer began the exhibition as usual with a presentation covering the company's activities over the last year. Gianni Parlanti, chief sales and marketing officer, spoke of the tremendous growth experienced in 2017 with EUR740m sales turnover. He explained that CO2 was the main driver with sales up 35% in 2018 even as compared to 2017. Scroll compressors are also experiencing significant growth of 20% driven by refrigerant transitions and new heat pump models.
Having entered the industrial refrigeration market some two years ago, Bitzer has brought California-based Vacom into the fold. Vacom specialises in energy efficiency within industrial refrigeration. The investment in this sector has been reinforced with a dedicated new manufacturing plant in China.
Rainer Große-Kracht, chief technology officer explained that there are three main focus areas of product development:
- Low GWP/Natural Refrigerants
- Efficiency in full- and part-loads
- Intelligent products with user friendliness.
With digitalisation a key element within product development, with a particular view to user-friendliness - or, simplicity - the IQ range of products is being showcased at Chillventa.
Training is also a focus for Bitzer, with the Schaufler Academy network expanded globally. Mr Große-Kracht said: 'Industry needs to know how to use/apply these new refrigerants, especially flammable low-GWP solutions or CO2 with the high pressures. CO2, for example, is a challenge to make genuinely efficient if you look not only at direct efficiencies, but also indirect efficiencies.'
He spoke about counterfeit products, parts as well as refrigerants, and his belief that the main way to prevent the proliferation of such products is training. 'We train people to use the correct products,' he said, 'and we show them the consequences of using counterfeit products, which can be dangerous, especially those used under high pressures or are flammable.'
Schott has developed three new doors systems for refrigerated displays and has been showcasing each of these at Chillventa 2018, with the Termofrost CRS View being unveiled for the very first time. This glass door system transforms the fronts of cold rooms in places such as fuel stations, cash and carry markets, and florists into attractive presentation areas. It is available in two variants, both of which offer a significantly improved view of the chilled products. Both systems come in different sizes and can be installed for floor-level walk-in solutions and on base plinths. Meanwhile, the Schott Termofrost Ad Door is revolutionising the point-of-sale advertising market. The integrated LED display captivates the awareness of the customers and creates a digital purchasing experience directly in the chilled food section. On the transparent screen in the glass door, videos and advertising films can directly promote the products placed behind on the shelf or highlight special campaigns. The third new door system to be presented at Chillventa is the Schott Termofrost Skyline, which gives chiller cabinets and shelves a modern full-glass look. Extra-high glass doors virtually cover the header of a chiller, while the long front of the chiller cabinet has the effect of being draped in glass. The transparent glass doors also increase the visible surface area of the chiller cabinets.
Carel is concentrating on information management and transfer through its integrated controls. The boss range has been extended with the introduction of boss mini, the local supervisory solution for managing, monitoring and optimising sites such as convenience stores, cold stores, service stations and small commercial buildings. Of interest, this range automatically implements different functions for reducing energy consumption. The offering of cloud-based services varies according to the application and connectivity architecture. RemotePRO can centralise all the information from individual local supervisors to provide global control of all connected systems. Armilla is the web portal that optimises marketing analysis and technical maintenance for beverage coolers. tERA is the platform for creating a centralised remote management system for both individual units and small HVAC/R systems.
Embraco has introduced its most recent food retail solution, the Plug n' Cool, which comes as a direct response to the increasing legislation and regulations faced by the food retail sector. Billed as a new concept in refrigeration, Plug n' Cool is a self-contained refrigeration circuit requiring no machine room and using the natural refrigerant R290. Gilmar Pirovano of Embraco extolled the benefits of the green technology, which include improved food preservation, aesthetics, and internal capacity.
Daikin is developing an R32 VRV, starting with the mini-VRV due to launch in the first quarter of 2020. The word on the street is that this could take a charge of up to 16kg.
Panasonic director of sales, Mazaki Arizono, says that Europe is a key driver for growth, borne out by the opening of a new plant in the Czech Republic earlier this month. One of the key products that Panasonic is showcasing at Chillventa is the VRF Hybrid, combining electric- (EHP) and gas-driven heat pump (GHP) technology for optimal efficiency. The new Hybrid VRF reduces energy costs by automatically switching between its GHP and EHP. It also provides a free supply of domestic hot water (DHW), ideal for high demand applications such as hotels and apartment blocks. The Hybrid VRF comprises a master GHP unit, an EHP unit and a specialised intelligent controller. This controller monitors usage, energy demand and air conditioning load to calculate if GHP, EHP or a combination of both working simultaneously, will deliver the best savings. The intelligent controller will then intuitively switch the Hybrid VRF system between GHP and EHP to optimise efficiency.
In addition, Panasonic is the bringing CO2 to the refrigeration sector with a particular emphasis on servicing an increasing demand for small format stores. The new Panasonic CO2 VF Series condensing unit provides two sustainable evaporation temperatures: a medium temperature of -20 degrees Celsius for showcasing refrigerated goods, and a low temperature of up to -45 degrees Celsius for the preservation of frozen foods. Utilising naturally occurring CO2, the VF Series is also effective in cold storage rooms to ensure the optimum temperature for keeping food fresh and safe – perfect for large spaces such as schools and hospitals. The new VF Series has been developed to provide a high seasonal energy performance, consisting of a SEPR cooling rate of 3.83 and a SEPR freezing rate of 1.92. This delivers a key environmental benefit but also significant cost savings, as the units provide users with a low ownership cost in comparison to previous models that used the R404A refrigerant. The VF Series condensing unit boasts a 25 percent reduction in freezer costs, and 16 percent reduction in refrigeration costs.
Tecumseh acquainted Chillventa visitors with the benefits of its IntelliCOOL technology platform, which embraces the latest product innovations and initiatives in variable capacity cooling, intelligent control, energy management and heat transfer to provide commercial refrigeration systems that are compact, quiet and deliver superior performance.
Features such as electronic protection, on-board diagnostics, and remote communications provide technicians with the information needed to ensure refrigerated cases are operating at peak performance and with the highest level of reliability. In line with Tecumseh’s refrigerant position, IntelliCOOL supports hydrocarbon and A2L refrigerants, delivering systems that are eco-friendly, safe, and meet current and future energy requirements.
The four main benefits of IntelliCOOL are in the areas of energy savings, system performance, connectivity and serviceability, and reliability. Energy savings are accomplished primarily by using technologies such as dynamic variable capacity cooling, ECO Mode, adaptive defrost, smart lighting control and continuous learning. System performance is enhanced via precision temperature control, power conditioning, rapid temperature pull-down and variable speed compressor and fan motor controls. Connectivity and serviceability is made possible using on-board communications, local diagnostics and alarming, and remote diagnostics and alarming. Lastly, system and component reliability is improved by employing electronic protection, motor soft-start, lubrication management, and self-maintenance technologies.