1. 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

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

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

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

5. 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

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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. European StandardisationEN
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

13. 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

14. 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

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

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

17. 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)

18. 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