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EUROVENT KÄLTE KOLLOQUIUM: Sixth presentation
"Certification and comparison of finned heat exchangers."
At the 2024 EUROVENT KÄLTE KOLLOQUIUM in Wiesbaden, Germany, LU-VE S.p.A. presented on behalf of members of the Eurovent Heat Exchanger (HE) Working Group. Starting with an introduction to Eurovent Certification and the Heat Exchanger programme, the presentation then moved onto CO2: Thermodynamic principles. A case study showed the influence of an uncertified CO2 gas cooler, with the presentation ending on the topic of adiabatic gas coolers.
About the EUROVENT KÄLTE KOLLOQUIUM
Over two days, from 4th - 5th June 2024, operators, planners and manufacturers explored reliable refrigeration systems for the cold chain, "From Farm to Supermarket," in Wiesbaden, Germany. A comprehensive technical programme took delegates from theory to practical, with a mix of seminars and excursions, perfectly blended to encourage learning, discussion and networking in inspiring surroundings.
Organised by Eurovent Certification and COOLPLAN, with media partners CCI and KKA, day-one was hosted at the historic Kloster Eberbach. The extensive technical programme scrutinised the latest trends in refrigeration, decarbonisation and boldly tackled issues such as underperformance and its impact on food quality and energy efficiency.
Day-two put the theory into practice, with the chance to go explore cold food chain technology in its natural habitat, with excursions to a green farming market and NH3/CO2 logistics warehouse.
The presentation
"Certification and comparison of finned heat exchangers."
Stefano Filippini, Innovation Director for LU-VE S.p.A. presented the sixth presentation of day-one. He started with an introduction to Eurovent Certification and the Heat Exchanger programme, covering the certified product groups of Direct Expansion (Dx) Air Coolers using HFC, Dx Air Coolers using CO2, Air Cooled Condensers, CO2 Gas Coolers and Dry Coolers. Stefano emphasised how the certify-all principle held assurance that the brand was safe as all products in the range had gone through the certification process. Also, he highlighted the vast importance of the surveillance process, which means product certification is an ongoing process.
Next Stefano asked the question, ‘why use certified products?’ He pointed out key aspects such as assured performance in terms of power consumption of fans, air flow volume, sound power and heat exchanger area, and its combined impact of the efficiency of the refrigeration circuit. He also shone attention to the fact that Eurovent correction factors, which are always based in industry consensus, are not applied by non-certified manufacturers. Delving further into the subject Stefano explored the influence of temperature on cycle efficiency, and the impact on food quality.
Getting more technical, Stefano pushed forward with ‘CO2: Thermodynamic principles’. He explained the influence of thermodynamics on food quality, the impact of CO2 pressure, and Eurovent guidelines on the dimensioning of gas coolers. Moving onto thermal output vs CO2 pressure in the gas cooler, Stefano compared a certified vs non-certified unit. This was just a warmup for the next part of his presentation where he guided us through a CO2 simulation.
The case study covered the influence of an uncertified CO2 gas cooler on the annual electricity consumption (and electricity costs) of a refrigeration system. Stefano explained how the simulations were undertaken, revealed the results and explained why if you buy a product with faulty performance, it’s bad for energy consumption, bad for the community and bad for the environment.
Next on Stefanos hit list was adiabatic gas coolers. He gave a brief overview of the technology and the possibilities for reducing the CO2 outlet temperature to increase the COP of the refrigeration system. He used a real-life example of a supermarket in Gorinchem (Netherlands), before wrapping up his conclusion on CO2 as a refrigerant, certification, CO2 gas cooler technology and greenwashing. Stefano concluded by taking questions from the floor.