Panasonic installs its first CO2 units in Europe
Panasonic has just launched a pilot project using CO2 as the refrigerant at the COOP store. The units are designed for small installations such as convenience stores or service stations.
The installation serves the store’s cooling and freezing needs. The freezing and cold rooms are 4m x 4.5m x 2.4m each.
The shop has been equipped with:
- Two 2HP CO2 refrigeration systems for low temperature (-20 °C).
- One 2HP CO2 unit for medium temperature (ranging from -2°C to 5°C).
The units are available in capacities of 1.6 kW to 14.6 kW and help to reduce CO2 emissions by 67% compared to products using R404A. In addition, they are lightweight and quiet.
At ATMOsphere Europe 2016, held in April in Barcelona, Spain, Hidekazu Tachibana of Panasonic gave some insights into installations carried out in the Japanese region of Kansai. He stated that at freezer temperature range, the CO2 unit proved to be on average 25,4% more efficient throughout the year than a conventional R404A system. The data sample from the Kansai area, which has an average summer outdoor temperature of 27°C, indicated 19% energy savings. During one year at the refrigerator temperature range, the CO2 unit proved to be an average of 16.2% more efficient than an R404A system.
Panasonic started working with CO2 as a refrigerant for different applications in Japan in 2009. Its CO2 refrigeration system is currently installed in over 1,800 stores in Japan.