RACA Journal March 2020 | Page 57

Projects Selected chill cabinets have acrylic doors to conserve energy. In store pipe runs needed to be light because of confined space and exposure to consumers. “As part of our environment policy at Woolworths, refrigeration plants need to be green within due financial consideration and low on energy usage. Trans-critical CO 2 refrigeration has also meant our plants do not consume any of that very valuable natural resource, water. LED lighting in cabinets, double glazed doors on all LT cabinets and acrylic doors on MT cabinets, except those with fresh produce, have been introduced to conserve energy usage, which is a major contributor towards global warming,” was said by Alex Kuzma of Woolworths during a tour of the V&A store. Continuous improvements and added design features have reduced energy usage of Woolworths stores to an average The plant room has two similar CO 2 racks. Artificial ‘hams’ are placed in each cabinet to monitor product temperatures, which is important to Woolworths and the consumer. www.hvacronline.co.za of 50% of the total store usage. A separate power meter to monitor the total power usage of the entire refrigeration plant is a standard feature at Woolworths supermarkets. CO 2 leakage is a safety concern as it will cause asphyxiation by replacing the oxygen level in confined spaces. The plant room, cold stores and freezer stores are fitted with CO 2 alarms and outside mounted buzzers and lights to indicate levels of CO 2 by different coloured lights. The plant room sensor also activates an exhaust fan in the event of a severe CO 2 leakage. The trading area has no CO 2 sensors. In the most unlikely event of the entire CO 2 charge of 500kg discharging into the trading area, because of its size, the concentration will not exceed the safety limit for human occupancy. RACA Journal I March 2020 55