FEATURE
Sphere. The demand has increased for
these kinds of systems. Before, everyone
had to work hard to sell the concept of CO 2
whilst now, there is more of a pull and clients
are asking for it themselves. It is an easier
sell these days. Many of the large retailers
are now going this route for both new and
retrofitted stores, including Pick n Pay and
Spar. Woolworths has been using CO 2 for
many years now.
“Forward-thinking retailers in warmer
climates, like South Africa, are moving
towards CO 2 solutions that can support
them to save up to 20% on energy bills,”
said Naidoo from Danfoss. “Compared to
traditional HFC refrigerants, the effect of
CO 2 on the climate is up to 4 000 times less.
So, not only will these retailers save on costs,
but they will dramatically reduce cooling-
related emissions.”
Alex Kuzma, head of engineering
services at Woolworths’s real estate
department, can vouch for this, too.
“There is a slow but definite swing towards
natural refrigerants and energy-saving
technologies,” he says. “The payback
times for these technologies are reducing
greatly as a result of spiralling energy and
HFC gas costs.”
Dawie Kriel, director at Energy Partners,
has also noticed the changes in refrigerants.
“CO 2 , propane, and other natural
refrigerants continue to gain ground,” he
says. He also notes that R407f is becoming
more popular as a medium-temperature
36
alternative and that other new refrigerants
are also being considered now.
Michael Breckle of ROCS (Retail.
Operation. Costs. Savings) has been
involved in the refrigeration side of retail
for many years. While working at Omega
Refrigeration, he noticed that although
they were doing a lot of work to optimise
the refrigeration and cabinets, the rest
of the store wasn’t really doing enough.
From lighting to HVAC and hot food,
there were often suppliers that weren’t
optimising efficiencies for the stores, he
explains. As such, he saw a gap to get
involved in operating cost savings from
a technical point of view. Together with
a group of other consultants, they now
work together to offer supermarket clients
a holistic solution, using measurable tools
to verify undertakings and savings across
the continent.
By helping clients to measure their
efficiencies and looking at the entire set-up,
they are very successful in optimising stores.
It’s not just about energy efficiency alone
anymore. “We’ve passed the energy barrier
a long time ago,” says Breckle. “If you’re
not doing energy savings by now, you’ve
missed the bus. We’ve been looking at this
for almost 15 years.”
Robert Hanssen of Cubicool International
agrees. “There are no real new energy
in-efficient plants anymore but there
is still a lot more to be done,” he says.
Often companies just want to get on the
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Trans-critical CO 2 systems are becoming more popular in South African supermarkets. Taken at
Woolworths Kyalami.
bandwagon and follow trends like CO 2 for
example, but they don’t have all the facts
or experience to properly execute a system
such as this. There are still some barriers to
the uptake of CO 2 locally, says Hanssen.
“For this to take off properly, government
needs to get more involved, regulations
need to be updated, and the industry
needs to wholly embrace the technology
— not just a few players.”
Another trend that Robinson has noticed
is that supermarkets are moving to smaller
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
formats in terms of footprint. Refrigeration-
wise, five years ago a large installation
would have about 70–80 points per store,
whereas now it’s more in the 50–60 range.
“The demand has changed; most people
don’t seem to be shopping in hypermarkets
anymore,” he explains. “It’s all about
convenience now.”
Using waste heat from the refrigeration
system has become standard now,
according to Shaun Hadfield, operations
director at Commercial Refrigeration
COLD LINK AFRICA • March/April 2019