Some contractors have used leak-stop agents successfully for years and consider them practical and cost-effective ways to seal small, hard-to-find leaks in systems. Other contractors feel strongly that only two things belong in a system: refrigerant and oil.
What long-term implications will this have on the refrigerant-recovery industry, which has been built on recovering chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) — refrigerants that are increasingly being phased out? The answer: Change is on the horizon, but demise is not imminent.
Contractors have a wide range of choices when it comes to properly equipping their technicians to perform safe, efficient refrigerant recovery. Here’s a look at some of the latest equipment and services.
Looking back on a refrigeration technology career stretching over six decades, Lynn Dison, an applications engineer with RAE Corp., said that he knew from the very start of it all that he would be at home in the industry for his entire career.
Fieldpiece Instruments has introduced the SRS1 refrigerant scale with weight alarm. The scale delivers accurate measurements for residential or light commercial facilities, measuring refrigerant cylinders up to 110 lbs., and the weight alarm is designed to be easy to use.
It is my firm belief that airflow and air distribution is every bit as important in refrigeration design as load calculations. What good is a properly sized system that can’t deliver the air to areas that need it? Poor air distribution and airflow lead to stratification in temperature and humidity as well as poor heat transfer.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Ames Laboratory will be the home of a new research consortium for the discovery and development of more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient refrigeration technologies, sponsored by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
The cyclical pattern of change in refrigerants is linked directly to our growing understanding of the unintended consequences of refrigerant interactions with our atmosphere, coupled with advancements in technology and shifts in societal values toward sustainability. One only needs to look at the evolution of refrigerants to see these trends at play.
Smartcool Systems Inc. and Tri-Caribbean Energy (TCE) announced that the Smartcool ECO3, as a part of TCE’s Green Energy Management (GEM) Power Savings Bundle, is reducing energy consumption by 31 percent on refrigeration systems at the Crystal Cove Hotel in Barbados.