Two refrigeration contractors were facing different challenges. In one situation, a restaurant in New York City needed to add refrigeration capacity for walk-in freezers and coolers, but in a constrained space. In another instance, a chain of restaurants was dealing with aging refrigeration equipment and the need to improve operating systems.

A lot of talk these days about natural refrigerants focuses on CO2, propane, isobutene, and the like. Stateside, they may be new kids on the block in terms of HVACR applications. But one natural refrigerant that has been around seemingly forever is ammonia. So it - like those “newcomers” - is drawing a lot of attention.

Emerson Climate Technologies has announced an “expanded presence” in China with the acquisition of Shanghai Well-Tech Refrigeration Systems Co. “Many analysts agree that the Chinese industrial refrigeration market offers significant growth opportunity,” said Ram Krishnan, president of the refrigeration division of Emerson.

Actually, frost on the suction line only indicates that at the location where the frost is present, the suction line piping is below the dew point temperature of the surrounding ambient air and at or below 32°F. That’s it. It is neither an indication of a properly operating system nor a system defect.

Ferris State University’s Commercial Refrigeration Laboratory has gone totally chlorine-free. By replacing the refrigerant HCFC-22 that was in two medium-temperature commercial refrigeration cases in the laboratory, the students in the associate degree program in HVACR can boast that the lab is now chlorine-free.

If there is to be a next generation of refrigerants in stationary equipment beyond hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), it appears they will be hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs). And if that transition is to take place in the United States, it could be because of regulations or better energy efficiencies - or both.

Ammonia in compact systems using micro-channel technology. Building warehouses as high-rises as a way to save energy and reduce ammonia refrigerant charges. Ammonia in integrated heating and cooling systems. These were just some of the directions technical papers took at the recent International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration Industrial Conference.

ComStar International has made several announcements related to hydrocarbon refrigerants. ComStar said that it and its China JV company will begin offering compressors for HC-441a; Energy Star testing of R-441a for residential refrigerators is ongoing; and ComStar is licensed as the exclusive U.S. manufacturer and distributor of R-441a.

A company from Vermont called Freeaire Refrigeration has come up with a technology, according to the company, designed to reduce electrical consumption “by eliminating unnecessary operation of every part of a system” and, for colder climates, adding an element that allows the use of cold outside air.

In response to environmental concerns raised by the use of high global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) is launching an industry-wide cooperative research program to identify and evaluate promising alternative refrigerants for major product categories.