FAR from being an unwanted imposition, many end-users are beginning to recognise the benefits of implementing more stringent leak-protection procedures as demanded by the F-Gas regulations. For larger refrigeration plants, a permanent leak-protection system is now, a not inconsiderable investment but one which can bring unexpected benefits.
“If we’d known then what we know now, we would have installed refrigerant leak-detection systems long before the F-Gas legislation came into force,” commented Norman Hatcliff, md of Norish Ltd, a multi-temperature warehousing and logistics business which recently installed a Parasense system.

Action

Founded in 1975, Norish operates in the UK from six strategically-located sites and provides in excess of 65,000 racked pallet spaces, of which 50,000 are temperature- controlled. Most of its customers operate in the food industry and whilst Norish offers both ambient and chilled storage, 75% of the food it handles is frozen.

With the F-Gas legislation on the horizon, Norish’s group engineer Stuart Lloyd realised action needed to be taken. He holds overall responsibility for the temperature- controlled storage across the six sites, two of which – located at Brierley Hill and Bury St Edmonds – needed to comply.

Brierley Hill, the largest of the two sites, is a 24-hour operation offering consolidation of multi-temperature-controlled products, including blast freezing and temperature controlled storage for around 14,500 pallets. Bulk meat and poultry food processing is its main area of business and consistent temperature control is an absolute necessity. The Bury St Edmonds site, which handles imports and exports through the Eastern ports, offers similar services with a storage capacity of 9,000 pallets.

Both facilities have refrigeration systems with a charge of around 5 tonnes, meaning Norish is legally obliged to fit a fixed leak detection system, conduct regular checks and repair any leaks within a set time frame.

While Norish already had a good management system in place, including a robust strategy for dealing with leaks when they occurred, the legislative requirements meant that a more sophisticated monitoring system was needed, along with an auditable trail of action in the event of a leak.

Site survey

Norish contacted Parasense in March 2007 who suggested that the complexity of the facilities warranted a full site survey. This enabled Parasense to establish the exact requirements and develop a cost-effective refrigerant monitoring solution, focusing on vulnerable joints, valves and pressure relief lines known to be susceptible to refrigerant emissions.

The survey also enabled Parasense to suggest various methods of alarm activation in the event of a critical refrigerant emission. This is vital to ensure a swift engineer response as soon as a leak has been detected, enabling remedial work to be carried out before the entire refrigerant charge is lost.



“It is essential to spend the time upfront to establish a detailed understanding of the refrigerant facilities,” says Parasense’s industrial and commercial sales manager Colin White.

“This enables the development of a bespoke solution that identifies any potential weak spots and makes sure they are covered adequately. Small measures, such as installing monitors alongside valves and pressure relief lines, make leak detection far more effective and can help facilities realise a return on investment sooner.” The equipment was installed by the end of June – just three months after Stuart’s initial phone call – and all was fully operational before the introduction of the F-Gas Regulations on July 4.

Early detection

Within days of commissioning the Parasense Monitoring system at the Brierley Hill site the alarm was activated. A small leak of 55ppm had occurred, but refrigeration engineers were able to interrogate the data and identify the location of the leak at an early stage. This enabled them to quickly pinpoint the source of the emission and carry out repairs without delay.

“Our investment in leak- detection has been a blessing in disguise,” said Stuart Lloyd. “Having the ability to identify small leaks at an early stage is a real benefit – the repercussions of large scale leaks for our business would be huge, both in terms of the expense of the lost refrigerant itself and the corresponding increase in energy usage to maintain temperatures, and the potential impact on the environment. At the end of the day, the equipment installed by Parasense has made my job easier and more effective.”

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