Let’s ‘make ammonia great again’
Stefan Jensen, managing director of low-charge ammonia system manufacturer Scantec, told ATMO Australia 2017 about his hopes for more compact ammonia systems that can work in air conditioning, supermarkets and commercial refrigeration.
Sporting a ‘Make ammonia great again’ hat at ATMO Australia 2017 – which took place on 2 May in Luna Park, Sydney – Scantec’s Stefan Jensen expressed his belief that ammonia would move “towards new applications in air conditioning, supermarkets and commercial refrigeration”.
In an office in Australia, Jensen recently installed air conditioning based on chilled water supplied from a low-charge NH3 system.
The Scantec managing director believes more must be done to demonstrate to end users that these systems are market-ready and efficient solutions.
“Potential customers don’t know what they don’t know, which stifles demand for natural refrigerant technology,” he told the audience.
He points out that customers care most about their bottom line. “What are the returns on investment in [natural refrigerant]-based solutions? It’s energy cost reduction and future-proofing”.
Low-charge ammonia can often mean energy reductions of over 40-70% compared to Freon systems.
He predicts a move away from the old-fashioned systems of the past “towards more compact, mass-produced injection controls”, “towards more compact air coolers for medium-temperature applications” and “towards reducing NH3 inventories further and therefore towards safer systems”.
Better systems will allow ammonia-based “low-charge liquid chilling systems to be fit for a wider range of purposes,” he concluded.