Food retailers are concerned over the HFC phasedown, noting that current alternative refrigerants have drawbacks, while others have not yet been fully evaluated.
Ongoing and evolving U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE) regulations have created a complex landscape for supermarket owners.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delayed the effective date of certain amendments to its Risk Management Program (RMP) rule until Feb. 19, 2019.
Data center designers and managers who are looking for ways to reduce water usage and energy costs often find that traditional cooling technologies are not the answer.
Although there may be a temptation to simply treat A2L refrigerants as equivalent to ammonia with respect to flammability hazard, ammonia really is an entity unto itself. Like an A2L, it exhibits a low-flame velocity in flammability tests, but ammonia has the unique safety advantage of a strong and unmistakable odor that is typically present long before the onset of a flammability hazard. All of the current A2L refrigerants, on the other hand, are odorless.
Many supermarkets converted their chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigeration systems to hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) systems only to see HFCs targeted for a phaseout. Now, they’re hearing about natural refrigerants, distributed refrigeration, and cascade systems.
There is always plenty of activity taking place on the HVACR side of the supermarket and restaurant industries. Here’s a quick look at eight items of note.
When you hear that your facility will be the target of an OSHA inspection, step back and examine the strengths and weaknesses of your safety program, and think about how you can focus the attention on the strengths. Although OSHA will come in looking for anything you’re doing wrong, you want to make sure they’re aware of all the things you’re doing right.