Our recent podcast, Emerging and Potential HVAC-R Applications for CO2, explored some uses for CO2 in refrigeration and HVAC applications that we've been keeping our eye on and some that we think have the potential for widespread adoption in the industry. There are a number of applications that could eventually fit that description, and one of the reasons for that varied potential is the versatility of CO2 as a refrigerant. Listen to the clip below to hear what Ken Allen, SRC's Southeast Regional Sales Manager, has to say about CO2's applicability for multiple HVAC-R functions.

In early February, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), an agency of the European Union, announced the introduction a proposal aimed at restricting the production and use of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS, across the EU. In this article, we’ll explain some background on the proposal, define PFAS & touch on some included substances with relevance to the HVAC-R industry, and go through the proposal’s next steps as outline by the ECHA.

Interest in CO2 as a refrigerant for HVAC-R applications in the United States has increased substantially in the past 10 years or so. As new technology emerges seeking to capitalize on CO2's near-zero global warming potential (GWP), we wanted to hear what one SRC's CO2 experts thought about the practicality of some newer applications for the refrigerant. The conversation below is a clip from a larger discussion around the long-term viability of some emerging and potential HVAC-R applications for CO2, a.k.a. R-744. Listen to hear some comments from SRC's Southeast Regional Sales Manager Ken Allen on the pressures of CO2 and some other properties. 

That’s a wrap! The 2023 AHR Expo has come and gone. Super Radiator had a very busy show and we enjoyed seeing all the innovation and excitement on display in Atlanta this week. For this post, we thought we’d share our perspective on our show – the hot topics and near-term industry outlook, the show itself, and some perspective from SRC’s attendees.

The US started limiting HFC usage on January 1^st, 2022, following the passage of the American Innovation in Manufacturing (AIM) Act of December 2020. Prior to the legislation, the EPA did not have the authority to make changes to HFC usage, and HFC policy decisions fell largely to the states, 11 of which had already begun HFC phasedown measures under the US Climate Alliance. The EPA's current phasedown schedule is aiming to reduce the production and consumption of HFCs by 85% below baseline levels gradually by 2036. This means that individuals and organizations that currently use HFCs like R-404A, for example, have a decision to make. 

Well, 2022 is in the books, and in the HVAC-R industry, we all know what the new year brings – the AHR Expo and ASHRAE’s annual Winter Conference! And, after a somewhat scaled-back presence in 2022 due to the lingering pandemic, Super Radiator is excited to exhibit and attend as normal (booth #B2947).

In heat exchangers, circuiting refers to the pattern by which the working fluid travels from the coil’s supply to its return. Also relating to coil circuiting is the orientation in which the coil is installed, relative to the direction of the application’s airflow.

Coil circuiting and its relationship with the application’s airflow are critical considerations of coil design, as proper circuiting can help increase the heat transfer coefficient of the heat exchanger.

On the other hand, improper circuiting can lessen a coil’s effectiveness and even cause damage, like tube erosion resulting from insufficient calculations for fluid velocity, for example. So, it’s important to understand the forces at play before deciding on a circuiting layout.

With the explosive growth of the digital economy over the last quarter century, the need for services like data storage, large-scale immediate computing operations, web hosting, and others has exploded as well. In that time span, the data centers where these functions take place have mutated from a handful of on-premises server racks performing local operations to sprawling commercial structures with thousands of servers.

Our refrigerant focus series consists of deep dives into the history, properties, suitable applications and pros and cons of some of today’s common refrigerants. This installment will focus on R-448A.

• Refrigerant Focus #1: R-32
• Refrigerant Focus #2: R-410A
• Refrigerant Focus #3: R-1234ze
• Refrigerant Focus #4: R-407A
• Refrigerant Focus #5: R-290
• Refrigerant Focus #6: R-744 (CO2)

In the world of commercial HVAC-R systems, energy efficiency is paramount – whether your goal is to satisfy industry-mandated efficiency ratings or win customers by saving them money on their electric bill. Overall unit/system efficiency is what end users are after, but if you’re an OEM of commercial RTUs, AHUs, etc., and don’t have a deep understanding of how subcomponents - especially coils - impact unit efficiency, you could be costing your customers money – a lot of money.

Based on the experiment outlined in this article, poor coil design can lead to more than a 100% increase in annual fan electricity usage per coil per year.