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Japan - End User

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Water Loops Solve Space Restrictions In the 2nd-floor basement of the Shibuya Scramble Square high-rise tower, two food suppliers, Head Line (a rotating showcase of various food makers) and Sanwein (a vendor specializing in Taiwanese delicacies), use seven pieces of specially designed CO 2 water-cooled plug-in showcases. While Tokyu Department Store aimed to use natural refrigerant equipment, the space restrictions and the underground location of the food sales area meant that the conventional CO 2 air-cooled condensing unit type system was not seen as a viable option. So Tokyu Department Store worked with Japanese OEM Panasonic and Japanese refrigeration installer Hama Refrigeration Industries to design and install CO 2 plug-in showcases that would be cooled by a water loop. The cooling tower is located outside on the 13 th floor. Tokyu Department Store chose to forego using subsidies for this project due to a tight construction and delivery schedule.

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Tokuo S ato, Direc tor of Hama Refrigeration Industries, said that in addition to preventing waste heat from being released on the sales floor, watercooled systems are a good option for commercial facilities with limited space, and help businesses transition away from synthetic refrigerants. "Several major department stores have called for water-cooled CO 2 showcases," said Sato. "Looking ahead, it is better to transition away from fluorocarbons now rather than half-way through with low-GWP refrigerants such as mixed fluorocarbons." DY

1 / Shibuya Scramble Crossing. Photo by Timo Volz on Unsplash 2 / Head Line food vendor using CO2 plugin showcases

Accelerate Magazine // April-May 2020