Providing training throughout the industry and stepping up alliances with industry associations are high priorities of the Refrigeration Service Engineers Society, according to comments from officials at the association’s 70th Annual Conference and HVACR Technology Expo.
More demanding energy-efficiency expectations, stronger environmental regulations, and a technician shortfall more severe than that faced in the HVAC sector. These were just some of the challenges facing those who deal with refrigeration on a daily basis, according to a range of presentations at the most recent Food Marketing Institute Energy and Technical Services Conference.
Electronically commutated (EC) motors continue to gain a foothold in the industry. Such motors utilize variable-speed technology to optimize fan speeds for load requirements, maximizing energy efficiency, and minimizing sound.
Once every four years, a major conference with a decided emphasis on refrigeration takes place. These International Congresses of Refrigeration draw technical papers and presenters from throughout the world, and since it is only once every four years, some significant developments are reported.
The ozone layer is healing itself thanks in part to what the HVACR industry has done in moving away from CFCs and HCFCs, a high-ranking United Nations official told an international gathering of refrigeration specialists at the once-every-four-year International Congress of Refrigeration that took place this summer in Beijing.
In the year since the Environmental Protection Agency announced its GreenChill program to encourage the refrigeration industry to voluntarily go beyond just regulatory compliance in dealing with environmental issues, a number of supermarket chains have already signed onto the effort - even though it has yet to be officially launched.
Those who work on supermarket refrigeration equipment are well aware that three different technologies are trying to maintain or gain footholds. One is traditional direct expansion (DX), another is called secondary loop, and yet another approach is called distributed technology.
The recent Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Show highlighted an aspect of its expo called Marketechnics. It was billed as showing products that allow for “incorporating technology into traditional equipment, service, and products.”
Contractors and service technicians who work on mechanical refrigeration equipment in supermarkets and convenience stores can monitor the potential profitability of such jobs by sorting through a regular pipeline of statistical information from the Food Marketing Institute.
Commercial refrigeration manufacturers and energy-efficiency advocacy groups have announced that they reached a consensus agreement on first-ever federal energy efficiency standards for commercial walk-in freezers. If enacted by Congress, it will begin affecting the design of new equipment in 2009, according to a statement from the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI).