Over past years we have seen, in parallel with traditional DX systems, the constant expansion of new technologies with CO2 as the refrigerant and as the secondary coolant media. Supermarket systems are divided into two temperature levels, MT and LT.
Two temperature levels
- MT: display cabinets and cold rooms at +6 to 0 °C
- LT: display cabinets and cold rooms at -18 to -24 °C
Systems are designed to suit these two temperature levels. In northern Europe we have seen the progressive introduction of transcritical booster systems, using CO2 as the refrigerant, in both MT and LT. In other countries, hybrid systems are becoming a standard solution.
Wide product portfolio
SWEP has a wide product portfolio for split, cascade and transcritical CO2 systems.
In these systems, R134a, R513a and R1234ze, are normally the refrigerant used in MT, and CO2, condensed via a cascade brazed plate heat exchanger, is the refrigerant used in LT. Pumped systems using CO2 as the coolant media are used in hot countries, due to the cost savings in pipe sizing and the increased efficiency. In emerging markets, supermarket systems are normally manufactured using brine chillers, with the glycol circulation ensured via a centrifugal pump.
