ACR Journal

  • Home
  • UK
  • International
  • Features
    • Blogs
  • What's New?
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Heat Pumps
  • Home
  • UK
  • International
  • Features
    • Blogs
  • What's New?
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Heat Pumps

News

Earth Overshoot Day and refrigeration

3/10/2018

 
refrigeration environment
Ed Whinyates of Stonegrove Refrigeration examines ways in which we can manage the impact of refrigeration on the environment.

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date each year when mankind’s demand for ecological resources exceeds what the planet can regenerate in that year. We are now consuming 70% more globally than the earth can regenerate and the date when we used up all of our resources for 2018 was 1st August!
refrigeration environment
How does refrigeration impact on our global footprint?
Our carbon footprint, and how it impacts on climate change, has a direct bearing on our global footprint. Refrigeration contributes to this and, in Britain alone, air conditioning and refrigeration account for almost 20% of total electricity use. This figure will continue to rise. Carbon emissions currently make up 60% of humanity’s ecological footprint. If carbon emissions were cut in half, the date of Earth Overshoot Day would be pushed back by 89 days.

Why are we so reliant on refrigeration systems?
Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment – with the obvious one being our food resources.

Food demand makes up 26% of the global ecological footprint, with a percentage of this needing to be temperature controlled. It is estimated that one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption — 1.3 billion tonnes every year — gets lost or wasted. Whilst refrigeration entails the use of energy it can, of course, also help save energy by reducing food waste. Furthermore, refrigeration has significantly contributed to the ‘convenience’ we enjoy with regard to food. Temperature control is vital in ensuring our food is safe to eat as it preserves the quality and, when correctly stored, prevents the risk of food poisoning.

What can be done to help improve the carbon footprint of refrigeration?
The growing use of refrigeration has gone hand in hand with a number of social, economic and technological developments to the point where it is ingrained in our day to day lives. As it stands, having no refrigeration would not be practical or safe for humanity. However, there are ways to help with the impact of refrigeration on our global footprint.

Refrigeration creates greenhouse gases in two distinct ways, firstly through the energy used to operate the equipment and secondly the choice of man-made refrigerants with inherent global warming potential. Small steps can make a big impact, with refrigeration being no different. A great deal is already being done to reduce the use of high GWP refrigerants, with the phase out of R22 in 2015 and the continued phase out of other high GWP refrigerants over the next decade and beyond. There is also the increased use of natural refrigerants such as ammonia and CO2.
 
Ways to combat the impact of refrigeration
In the future our changing, warming climate is likely to increase demand for refrigeration. There are a number of areas that can offer immediate and long-term improvements to the carbon footprint of refrigeration systems. One excellent example of this is minimising refrigeration leaks, particularly for systems with high GWP refrigerants. One obvious way to do this would be the installation of a suitable leak detection system. 
  
A good level of planned maintenance will also offer an environmental improvement, not only with leak reduction but also the efficiency. If a refrigeration plant is looked after, and running to its design conditions, less energy will be used and wasted. 

The importance of refrigeration control systems should also not be underestimated when it comes to a carbon footprint. Refrigeration equipment will be inefficient if not running correctly. With the use of an integrated control system, energy savings are reached through the constant monitoring of plant and the optimization of equipment performance. 

Another area that offers an improvement on refrigeration impact is the refrigerant itself. The use of natural refrigerants for new installations should be considered, not just on large industrial installations but, if practical, also smaller commercial projects. With regards to man-made refrigerants there are now some excellent low GWP options available that can be used for new installations and within existing systems that contain high GWP refrigerants. In some cases a simple ‘drop in’ process can be carried out with minimal disruption to a client.

The installation of energy efficient systems will have a positive impact and can offer better longevity. It is generally considered that energy savings of between 20% and 50% are possible through the proper specification, use and maintenance of equipment. In essence the four key elements of a more efficient system include minimising the load, minimising the temperature difference, checking the controls and maintaining the system properly.

In summary
A world without refrigeration could have massive detrimental effects on society. Although it has a large carbon footprint, without refrigeration technology there may not be access to the food resources needed to survive during the different seasons of the year. Food production and storage would be less manageable and far costlier. Food consumption aside, we also wouldn’t have the cooled environments necessary for medical research and the storage of disease-preventing pharmaceutical products. 
Picture
​To find out how Stonegrove can help with your refrigeration requirements, please contact:

ed@stonegroverefrigeration.co.uk 

01279 408690

www.stonegroverefrigeration.co.uk

Comments are closed.

    News

    Picture
    Subscribe to the ACR Journal

    RSS Feed

    Topics

    All
    360
    A2l
    A410a
    Acoustics
    Acr
    ACU
    Advice
    Ahu
    Air Conditioning
    Air Cooled
    Air Curtain
    Air Filtration
    Air Handling
    Air Handling Unit
    Air Intake
    Air Management
    Air Movement
    Air Source
    Ammoinia
    Ammonia
    Ancillary Products
    Appointment
    Appointments
    Apprentice
    Apprentices
    Australia
    Awards
    BIM
    Birmingham
    Blast Freezer
    Bms
    BRA
    Branch
    Brexit
    Building Controls
    Building Information Modelling
    Building Regulations
    Building Services
    Cabinet
    Cabinets
    Cambodia
    Careers
    Cassettes
    Catering
    Cfd
    Changing Faces
    Charity
    Chilled Beams
    Chilled Counter
    Chilled Water
    Chillers
    Chillventa
    Chilly Chatter
    China
    Cleaning
    Co2
    Cold Room
    Cold Storage
    Cold Store
    College
    Comfort Cooling
    Commercial
    Community
    Compact
    Companies
    Competition
    Compliance
    Component
    Compressor
    Compressor Pack
    Compressors
    Condensate
    Condensate Pump
    Condensers
    Condensing Unit
    Conference
    Construction
    Consultant
    Contract
    Contractor
    Contractors
    Controls
    Cooler
    Cooling
    Cooling Towers
    Copper
    Course
    CPD
    Cryogenics
    Curtains
    Customers
    Cylinder
    Darts
    Data
    Data Centre Cooling
    Dehumidifier
    Design
    Dinner
    Display
    Distribution
    District Heating
    Diversity
    Drives
    Dubai
    Ductwork
    DX
    Education
    Electrical
    EMS
    Energy Efficiency
    Engineeering
    Engineer
    Engineering
    Engineers
    Environment
    Equipment
    ETL
    Europe
    Evaporators
    Events
    Export
    Extract Fan
    Fan Coil
    Fans
    Feta
    F Gas
    F-gas
    Filter
    Fire Detection
    Fittings
    Flame Free
    Flexi
    Food
    Food Processing
    Frame
    France
    Free Cooling
    Freezer
    Fresh Produce
    Gantry
    Gas
    Germany
    Ghp
    Glasgow
    Golf
    Government
    Green Energy
    Grenfell
    Ground Source
    Guides
    GWP
    Hampshire
    Health
    Heat Exchangers
    Heating
    Heat Networks
    Heat Pumps
    Heat Recovery
    Heat Transfer
    Hfc
    HFO
    Holland
    Hot Water
    HRS
    Humidification
    Humidity Control
    Hvac
    Hybrid
    IAQ
    Ice Rink
    Impeller
    India
    Indoor Air Quality
    Indoor Unit
    Industrial
    Infection
    Install
    Installation
    Installations
    Installer
    Installers
    Instrument
    Insulation
    International
    Inverter
    IOR
    Ireland
    Italy
    Joints
    Kitchen
    Late Payment
    Leak
    Leak Detection
    Legionella
    Legislation
    Liquid Chillers
    Logistics
    Low Carbon
    Low Gwp
    Maintenance
    Manifold
    Manufacturer
    Manufacturing
    Marine
    Marketing
    Mechanical
    MEES
    Membrane Pump
    Middle East
    Midlands
    Monitoring
    MVRH
    Natural Refrigerants
    Newcastle
    Norfolk
    Obituary
    Office
    Oil Drain Vessel
    Oil Free
    Ordering
    Packaged Unit
    Parts
    Passive House
    Payment
    Pharmaceutical
    Pipes
    Pipework
    Plant
    Platform
    Plumbing
    Pollution
    Power Generation
    Power Quality
    Ppm
    Press Fit
    Process Cooling
    Product
    Project
    Public Relations
    Pumps
    Quad
    Qualifications
    R22
    R32
    R410a
    Rachp
    Reciprocating Compressor
    Reclamation
    Recovery
    Recruitment
    Refrigerant Recovery
    Refrigerants
    Refrigeration
    Refurbishment
    Regulations
    Renewables
    Rental
    Research
    Residential
    Retail
    Retentions
    Retirement
    Retrofit
    Rewards
    Roof
    Rooftop
    Russia
    Safety
    Sales
    Sales Engineer
    Samsung
    Scales
    Scotland
    Screw
    Screw Compressor
    Scroll
    Sdi
    Sealant
    Seer
    Selfbuild
    Separator
    Service
    Service Engineer
    Shopping
    Show
    Skills
    Smart
    Smart Buildings
    Smart Controls
    Social Housing
    Software
    Specifiers
    Spiral Freezer
    Splits
    Split System
    Sponsorship
    Stratification
    Supermarket
    Supplier
    Supply Chain
    Support
    Sustainability
    Technical
    Temperature Control
    Temperature Contrrol
    Testing
    Thermal Energy
    Tools
    Tools Talk
    Trade Counter
    Trainee
    Training
    Tran
    Transport Refrigeration
    Triple
    Tube
    Twin
    UK
    Vacuum
    Valves
    Ventilation
    Vietnam
    Vrf
    Vrv
    Vsd
    Wall
    Wall Mounted
    Warranty
    Waste Water
    Water Cooled
    Water Treatment
    Wellbeing
    Wholesale
    Wind Free
    Wireless
    Women In ACR
    Women In RACHP

Follow

Subscribe
Heat Pumps Today
Follow us on social media
Tweets by @ACRJournal

Support

​Cookies
Privacy
Terms of Use
Contact
Advertise

Company

About
The Company
Warners Group Publications
© COPYRIGHT 2016
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.