The UK’s only exhibition dedicated to the air conditioning and refrigeration industry presented attendees with a unique opportunity to discover a variety of propane and R744 products that can help meet environmental concerns. “My company is looking to move away from HFC refrigerants and the show will give us a good insight into the latest developments in alternative technologies, such as carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons”, said Neil Frost of the Co-operative group ahead of the event.

Hydrocarbon products and training on display

• Practical Refrigeration Training Centre (PRTC): Established over 20 years ago the PRTC highlighted the variety of City and Guilds HVAC&R courses they provide, including hydrocarbons refrigerant handling;

• ICS and Cool Energy: Launched their latest range of HVAC chillers, close control air conditioning and propane units. ICS have developed the Eco-P Compact range of R290 chillers that have a low refrigerant charge (less than 5kg charge per circuit), a compact, space saving footprint, and contribute to BREEAM point scores. Applications for the Eco-P include comfort cooling, building services, process cooling and retail. To ensure safety the ICS chiller incorporates a remote control panel, ensuring that if a leak is detected the power source is interrupted, preventing any potential hazardous ignition;

• Frascold: The Italian compressor manufacturer introduced several innovative products at the ACR Show including their compressor diagnostics system that enables a constant monitoring of compressor performance. The sturdy Frascold AX and AXH range of compressors are specially designed to comply with the safety standards for application with hydrocarbons;

• AHT Cooling System UK: One of the UK’s largest wholesalers of commercial refrigeration displayed several of their hydrocarbons cabinets. Their range of hydrocarbon products includes the Rio Ice Cream Cabinets, Sao Paulo and Boston freezers for scooping ice cream, Acapulco display freezers, AHY XL Multidecks and VR bottle coolers;

• Gram: The 2011 winner of the ACR Refrigeration Product of the Year, Gram has over 100 years of manufacturing experience and is a leading manufacturer of energy efficient commercial hydrocarbon refrigeration solutions. The company first started to substitute powerful greenhouse gas HFC refrigerants with low GWP hydrocarbons R290 and R600a in 2002;

• Hoshizaki: The leading manufacturer of ice machines showcased their low energy and environmentally friendly hydrocarbon icemaker. Using a total charge of only 156gr of R290 within a dual system the icemaker’s energy consumption is lowered by up to 20% in one unit compared to an HFC system. Hoshizaki co-sponsored the ACR Show’ catering and networking area with Gram.

ACR News Awards 2012 honour hydrocarbons

On 14 March 2012, the ACR News Awards celebrated the latest successes in air conditioning and refrigeration over the past 12 months. Hosted by Paul Tonkinson and held at the National Motorcycle Museum the awards saw Arctic Circle win the Air Conditioning Product of the Year award for their hydrocarbon chiller and retailer Tesco win the Environmental Initiative award.

Other 2012 categories and winners included:

• Refrigeration Product of the Year: Frascold and Klima-Therm
• Training Initiative: WR Refrigeration
• Consultant of the Year: Ingleton Wood