46 // Events
NatRefs buzzing in Australia at ARBS 2018 ARBS 2018 marked the debut of several new natural refrigerant technologies for end users including a hydrocarbon water-loop solution, new CO 2 condensing units, and CO 2 heat pumps. Accelerate Australia & NZ reports from Sydney.
― By Devin Yoshimoto & Andrew Williams
At
this year’s Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Building Services (ARBS) exhibition, key technology suppliers were optimistic about the level of interest in and uptake of natural refrigerants among end users of HVAC&R systems. ARBS 2018 – held on 5-8 May at the ICC Sydney exhibition centre overlooking beautiful Darling Harbour – saw the launch in Australia of several new natural refrigerant-based technologies. Manufacturers were optimistic about the market prospects for these solutions among businesses in all sectors, and hailed growing awareness of the benefits of natural refrigerants among the wider Australian HVAC&R industry. Jeff Cisco, electrical service manager at local Australian contractor Laser Electrical Orange, captured the tone of the event in an interview with Accelerate Australia & NZ on the ICC balcony overlooking the Sydney skyline.
“There is a fairly strong push away from products that harm the environment and education of the general public is increasing," Cisco said. “The average customer is still unaware of the benefits of natural refrigerants,” the contractor suggested, pointing out that he himself had only learned about natural refrigerants when working with them at the request of one of his customers. “This particular customer educated me on the subject of natural refrigerants," Cisco said. Over the three days of the exhibition, this sense of moving away from climatedamaging refrigerants towards natural refrigerant alternatives was evident in the series of interviews conducted by Accelerate Australia & NZ.
Introducing water-loop solutions Businesses in Australia now have another option to use natural re f r i g e r a n ts: A r n e g e x h i b i te d i ts p ro pa n e - base d wate r - l o o p refrigeration system for supermarket and other commercial applications. The propane-based water-loop system represents an alternative method for businesses such as supermarkets to supply their refrigeration needs in a more flexible, decentralised manner. Rather than cooling the entire store from a single centralised refrigeration plant, each display case runs off its own propane system. The exhaust heat is carried away by a water loop. Water-loop systems are already in use in several supermarkets in Europe, and they are beginning to be introduced in the Australian market. Accelerate Australia & NZ // Winter 2018