European Advances in Supermarket Refrigeration Leak Reduction waffle slab ceiling  pipework is arranged there and accessible / access however is secured against unauthorised access. Christoph Meurer Solvay Fluor GmbH, Germany

Agenda European Supermarkets European Legislation and Standards Business Specifics Refrigeration Specifics European Legislation and Standards Emission results from the field

Market Structure Germany Sales Area Nr. of stores Other Food retail < 4000 ft² 36.332 Discounter ≈10.000 ft² 12.770 Supermarket 4.000-15.000 ft² 9.230 Cons. market 15.000-50.000 ft² 1.682 Hypermarket > 50.000 ft² 681 European Supermarkets – Business Specifics

European Supermarkets Average Retail Space [m²] hier sind noch die Werte aus dem Clodic Bericht (Italien Spanien, etc.) hinzuzufügen. European Supermarkets – Business Specifics

European Supermarkets Shops are generally smaller Deviations in business structure from country to country Discounters are gaining popularity – especially in GER European Supermarkets – Business Specifics

European Supermarkets Suction Manifold Liquid Manifold Conventional Multiplex Low-Charge Multiplex European Supermarkets – Refrigeration Specifics

European Supermarkets Accessability of pipework key design criteria for Supermarket chains Leak test methods are being optimised (pressure drop tests overrated / new detectors find leaks < 5g/anno) Nr. of flares reduced Total pipe length reduced European Supermarkets – Refrigeration Specifics

European Supermarkets Capacity of refrigeration packages relatively small  typical GER supermarket:75 kW medium / 35 kW low Discounter markets (GER) usually operate with plug-in freezers for low temp and distributed systems for medium temp European Supermarkets – Refrigeration Specifics

European Supermarkets – Legislation STEK Regulation (NL) Design Criteria Pipes shall be joined by welded or brazed joints Flares joints shall not be used Detailed requirements for relief / safety valves (usually blowing to low pressure side not ambient) Systems > 300kg shall be located in machinery rooms (min. compressor racks) …. European Supermarkets – Legislation

European Supermarkets – Legislation STEK Regulation (NL) Service Criteria Systems with charge > 3kg shall be inspected annually Systems with charge > 1000kg shall be under constant supervision Logbooks must be kept for all systems > 3kg charge Refill / top up only permitted if leak is identified European Supermarkets – Legislation

European Supermarkets – Legislation European Legislation EU F-GAS Regulation (Draft) Service / Maintenance regulation framework similar to NL STEK Mandatory service intervalls: charge > 3kg every 6 months charge > 300kg every 3 months Legal Base for that part is „Protection of the environment“  member states may install additional requirements European Supermarkets – Legislation

European Standardisation EN 378-2000 No flared joints for pipes between 9mm and 19mm Flared joints shall not be used to connect TXVs Operating party must keep logbooks of refrigerant consumption European Supermarkets – Standardisation

European Supermarkets Location and Severity of Leaks* 96% of the total refrigerant loss was through field assembled joints 15% of the leaks were responsible for 85% of refrigerant loss 21,6% of all detected leaks where flared joints – They are responsible for close to 50% of lost refrigerant Survey and long term of analysis of 62 supermarket refrigeration systems in two German states. Charge size from <10 to >360 kg * FKT Study – Leak tightness of Refrigeration Systems (1999, ILK Drseden) Emission Results from the field

German Tightness Study* 0,16% of brazed joints had leaks Systems with substantial leaks over long periods had leaks in unaccessible parts of the system * FKT Study – Leak tightness of Refrigeration Systems (1999, ILK Drseden) Emission Results from the field

German Tightness Study* Annual Leakages from Supermarket Systems [%] * FKT Study – Leak tightness of Refrigeration Systems (1999, ILK Drseden) Emission Results from the field

German Industry Targets* Avg. annual Leaks from stationary Systems [%] FKT Study – Improving Leak tightness of Refrigeration Systems (2003, ILK Drseden)

Statistics from NL Overall leakage rate < 4.5% (2000) Leackage rate per sector AC < 1%, Process < 1%, industrial < 5% Fishing industry 80% … 200% Tremendous reduction (50%) of refrigerant market in spite of economical grow Elimination of odd-jobbers/fly-by-nighters Increased fleet efficiency (service)

Summary Business Structure in Europe different from US Means for leak reduction are often simple Some areas (NL/GER) have demonstrated that very tight DX systems are possible Target values of 2% leak p.a. are realistic EU legislation will address the issue