Everyone is talking about sustainability and energy efficiency. How does this affect the refrigeration industry? At EuroShop 2020 we talked to Francesca Giombini, marketing manager of Rivacold, a manufacturer and distributor of components to the refrigeration and air conditioning industry.
Mrs. Giombini, why are you coming to EuroShop 2020?
We are at EuroShop to show the latest solutions for the retail market that shape the future of sustainability in refrigeration. We present here a couple of new solutions for new refrigeration systems in retail.
Our main solution is a propane unit called “BEST”. It’s a redesigned solution for a packaged system for cold rooms for medium and low temperatures with propane. Propane (R-290) is a natural refrigerant, with a GWP value (global warming potential) of 3, so it’s very low.
What are concerns for retailers and operators considering refrigerants and refrigeration systems?
There are many requirements to consider that we try to realize when designing solutions.
For example, our product “BEST” has a very small refrigerant charge, so it is developed with safety in mind for the installers and users.
It also has a new electronic control that can be matched up with the app of Rivacold so the installers can manage the system remotely. This feature reduces the direct interventions very much compared to the previous standard of the solutions that you find for these systems in the market. In this sense it is doubly eco-friendly by the way because it reduces the efforts and the carbon dioxide output of driving to the facility.
What are going to be the next challenges for your company considering everyone is becoming more conscious of the environment?
On the one hand, we as a company are trying to sensitize our own employees. We have a separate entity that develops best practice use cases from separating waste in our company units to solar panels on the premises.
On the other hand, we put all our efforts in developing solutions with natural refrigerants. Apart from propane our other solutions are CO2 (R-744) solutions that have bigger capacities. From the split systems up to the multi-compressor packs with CO2 solutions – you’ll find the lowest GWP for that kind of solution according to the power or the size of the retail market.
Within this range you can find eco-sustainable solutions like heat recovering and solutions like the new product that we present here: With the multi-compressor pack “4Y” you can modularize so you can match the demands of the retailer from medium to low temperature in refrigeration and cooling and heating air conditioning for the retail environment.
Interview: Asif Saeed
EuroShop editorial team
