www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I May 2025 23
Feature
WEDNESDAY, 4 JUNE 2025 – ENERGY / ENGINEERING DAY 1 WILL COVER TOPICS AROUND ENERGY AND ENGINEERING While refrigeration technology has brought numerous benefits, it also has environmental implications that cannot be overlooked. The production and use of refrigerants, the energy consumption of cooling systems and the disposal of refrigeration equipment all contribute to environmental challenges.
Refrigerant emissions: Many traditional refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons( CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons( HCFCs), have been found to deplete the ozone layer and contribute to global warming. Although these substances are being phased out under international agreements like the Montreal Protocol, their replacements, such as hydrofluorocarbons( HFCs), still have a high global warming potential( GWP). As a result, there is ongoing research into developing more environmentally friendly refrigerants with lower GWP, such as hydrofluoroolefins( HFOs) and natural refrigerants like ammonia and carbon dioxide.
Energy consumption: Refrigeration systems are energy-intensive, and their widespread use contributes significantly to global energy consumption. The energy required to power refrigeration systems often comes from fossil fuels, leading to greenhouse gas emissions and exacerbating climate change. Improving the energy efficiency of refrigeration systems is a critical focus area for reducing their environmental impact. Innovations such as variable-speed compressors, advanced insulation materials and smart thermostats are helping to make refrigeration systems more energy-efficient.
Refrigeration engineering focuses on the design, installation, maintenance and troubleshooting of cooling systems. It involves a combination of mechanical engineering principles, thermodynamics and heat transfer to create efficient and reliable refrigeration systems. Time: Topic: Description: Speaker name and bio:
10h00 – 10h45
10h45 – 11h30
11h30 – 12h15
Global Warming Routes How To Enhance Efficiency In Hydronic Systems Granting Long Working Life Of this Equipment
Energy efficiency in insulated structures
Thermal fluid systems
Global Warming is recognised today as one of the main issues that all governments of the world must be accountable for. To reduce CO2 emissions in our sectors means first producing units that are extremely efficient and reducing input energy for the same amount of cooling or heating energy, and second to produce units for cooling and heating with refrigerant that has low Global Warming Potential. Today the main manufacturers of HVAC units have available many options of very efficient new units but in many cases if such units are not installed in a proper system with a correct design we do not benefit from their efficiency and performances, with the risk to generate bad feeling and bad reference of these new technologies that potentially will reduce market opportunities. Today we would like to provide some fundamental guidelines on how to design a very efficient system granting long life of the HVAC machines.
The subject of this talk will focus on energy efficiency in insulated structures( i. e: cold stores, etc) and modelling the performance of the insulation with increasing ambient temperatures( Climate Change)
Luigi Rossettini is a member of the AICARR association and a Director of Aermec Italy. Luigi has been a member of AICARR since 1999. Although the organisation was founded in 1960, AiCARR has always dealt with issues relating to the responsible use of energy and natural resources and the innovation of energy infrastructures, both in residential and industrial buildings. Luigi is currently A director of Aermec Middle East LLC. Robert Fox – Costing Estimator- Club Refrigeration. Robert Fox is the current President of the South African Institute of Refrigeration and Airconditioning( Since 2022). He is also a costing estimator with Club Refrigeration, He has been in this position since 1994 with the responsibility of designing Cold Stores and Refrigeration Systems, Air Handling Units. Jannie Potgieter- Jannie currently works at Thermologika as a consulting engineer.
www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I May 2025 23