If you’ve ever owned an older car or HVAC system, you’re probably familiar with Freon. It’s also known as R-22, and it’s a noncombustible gas that is integral to the process of air conditioning. For years, all air conditioning systems utilized R-22. But it is now being phased out due to environmental concerns.
This means there are many R-22 conversions happening around the United States. People are switching their air conditioning systems over from R-22 to R-410A, which is also known as Puron. Below we’ll take a look at the benefits of R-22 conversions and why using R-410A refrigerant is superior.
It’s the law
There has already been an initial wave of R-22 conversions, and there will likely be many more in the coming years. This is because, as of the year 2020, R-22 cannot be manufactured or imported into the United States. That doesn’t mean that everyone must rip out their air conditioners that currently use R-22, just that no new air conditioning systems using Freon will be manufactured in the U.S.
More cost-effective
Performing an R-22 conversion to R-410A could likely save you money in the long run. This is because, due to supply and demand, the cost of R-22 will surely go up. This is because it’s about to become scarcer. This is happening due to the laws mentioned above going into effect. Installing an HVAC system that uses R-410A means the technology you’re using will be newer, and the parts themselves should last longer than an outdated R-22-based system.
Better efficiency
In the same vein, an R-410A system does a better job of absorbing and emitting heat than an older R-22 system does. This, combined with the better equipment and technology, means it will run more efficiently than an R-22 system. There’s also a bit of a ceiling when it comes to an R-22 system’s seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER). Most R-22 systems have a hard time getting above a 13 SEER rating, while R-410A systems can easily reach a 14.5 SEER rating or higher.
Saving the environment
This is the main reason the government looked to phase out R-22. When it leaks, the gas can do significant damage to the planet’s air quality and ozone layer. With so many millions of people using R-22 for various applications, continuing its use was unsustainable.
R-410A is still a chemical gas compound, but it’s not nearly as harmful to the earth’s ozone layer as Freon is. While it’s true that R-410A is not perfect, it’s the best material currently available to use in air conditioning systems. Someday an even safer gas might be discovered to replace R-410A, but until then you can confidently deploy it in your home knowing that it’s safe, legal and can be serviced for a reasonable price.
Call for your HVAC services today
Whether you require R-22 conversions or other types of HVAC services, give us a call at American Refrigeration Inc. We offer a plethora of commercial HVAC services, including HVAC installation, repair, commercial refrigeration and parts distribution.
When you’re looking into walk-in cooler installation for your winery, brewery, restaurant, grocery store or other type of business, flooring is a surprisingly important consideration. Floors contribute a significant amount of insulation—or not—depending on where and how your cooler is installed.
Before you can decide whether your walk-in cooler needs dedicated flooring, you’ll need to determine what kind of flooring it currently has and whether its thermal needs are conducive to your goals.
Here’s how to decide if you need a floor.
Where is your cooler installed?
When you’re trying to decide whether your cooler needs an actual floor, it’s important to determine where it will be installed. For example, your geographic location makes a big difference in whether you’ll need thermal insulation between the ground, a cement slab and your cooler. In Oregon, especially in areas where it gets warm in the summer, you will probably need to add additional insulation.
Does your walk-in cooler have a floor?
The first thing to determine is whether the walk-in cooler you’ve chosen already comes with a floor installed. Many coolers present that option, but it might not be right for you. The most important thing to know is that if your walk-in cooler doesn’t come with a pre-installed floor, you’re probably going to need to install further weatherproofing—in the form of seals or “screeds”—to prevent air transfer from indoors to outdoors.
If your walk-in cooler will only be accessed by walk-in traffic, it might be fine to install it on a concrete slab. However, if the floors are made of a different material, it’s not perfectly level or there are other structural concerns, your winery equipment installation is probably going to require a different type of flooring.
Is there a thermal break pre-installed?
Heat transfer is the biggest problem for walk-in coolers. When warm and hot air meet, they flow toward each other until they eventually balance out. The same goes for when the cold temperature of your walk-in cooler meets the hot temperature of the ground in the summertime. Do you really want to pay to refrigerate the earth? If not, you’ll need to install a thermal break, which disrupts heat transfer and keeps the cold air where it should be: in your cooler.
What kind of floor should you choose?
Once you’ve decided that your walk-in cooler needs flooring, it’s important to choose a type of floor. Obviously, the most important part is the insulation, which impedes heat transfer from the earth to the cooler. However, reinforced and aluminum floors are popular. They help keep the floors as cold as possible while withstanding thousands of pounds of pressure per square foot.
Not sure which type of cooler or floor you should choose? The team at American Refrigeration Inc. is here to help. Call us today to learn more about our refrigeration options, including flooring types, whether you need a floor and specific installation requirements. Our winery and other walk-in cooler installation processes can be customized to suit your needs.
When you’re trying to decide which commercial refrigerators to buy, choosing between indoor and outdoor walk-in coolers can be difficult. While both types of coolers are a good choice for restaurants, bars, distilleries and other businesses that rely on large-scale refrigeration, indoor and outdoor coolers have distinct quirks. Depending on your building and property size, there may be a clear winner—but if you’re still trying to determine what to buy, read on.
Should you choose an indoor or outdoor cooler?
Here are some of the factors you’ll need to take into account when making a commercial refrigerator purchase:
Major differences: Since indoor and outdoor coolers are made differently, they require different features. When you buy an outdoor model, you’ll need extra weatherproofing. For example, rain roofs, weather sealing strips, panel protection and other weather protection is necessary to insulate the cooler and keep it safe from the elements.
Type of product: What will you store in your walk-in cooler? Depending on the product, the refrigeration needs may change. For example, most coolers “assume” that you’ll be storing the product at 33 degrees Fahrenheit, but it will enter the cooler around 55 degrees. For freezers, it’s assumed that the holding temperature is -10 degrees Fahrenheit, but the products will enter around 20 degrees. Because the models and refrigeration type can vary, make sure that your cooler can handle the size and type of product you need to store. If they’re entering or holding at different temperatures, you may not get the right type of cooler.
Flooring: Do you need special flooring? That depends on whether you have an indoor or outdoor cooler—usually. Unless you already have a concrete floor with thermal breaks, both your indoor and outdoor coolers will need flooring. Furthermore, if you plan to carry heavy loads in and out of your cooler, it’s best to install a thermal break, as it will help prevent condensation from forming.
Airflow: You’ll need at least two inches around the cooling panels. When you design your space, make sure there’s plenty of room for airflow. Otherwise, condensation will build up, which is not conducive to good operation of commercial refrigerators.
Location: Your location will also have a major effect on your cooler—depending on if you’re in a warmer or cooler part of Oregon, you’ll need to size your cooler accordingly. Check the ambient temperature in your cooler specifications to ensure it will work for your needs.
Delivery: When you have your cooler delivered, it can be difficult to move everything to where it needs to go—make sure you know whether you need to have a forklift available or if your refrigeration company will help deliver and install the cooler.
Refrigeration type: Finally, determine which type of refrigeration is right for you. Pre-assembled and remote refrigeration versions have their advantages and drawbacks. Ask your vendor about what’s best for your particular setup.
When you need commercial refrigerators and walk-in coolers, American Refrigeration Inc. is here to help. Call us today to learn more about our offerings and find out which type of cooler is best for you.
Running a winery can be a dream job. Owning it can be even better. But while the perks may be great, there’s a lot of work that goes into turning grapes into wine. There’s also a lot of specialized equipment that is necessary for each step of the process. That also means, if you’re planning to operate a small winery, you’ll need professional winery equipment installation.
There are many steps to making wine, and each requires specific tools. Some of these tools touch the grapes or wine itself, like wine tanks, and some do not, like refrigeration systems.
Here’s a look at some of the equipment needed for a small winery.
Climate control
If you’ve ever toured a winery, you may have noticed that the area where the wine is stored is a little chilly. It may have even been inside a cave. That’s because wine needs very specific climate control for the process of fermentation and aging to allow for the most desirable results. A good refrigeration system is key for keeping wine at optimum temperature, especially during the aging process.
Crusher-destemmers
Once the grapes are picked, they need to be destemmed and crushed to release the juice. There are a few different types of machines that do this. A crusher-destemmer and a destemmer-crusher each handle both of these jobs, but in different orders. Crusher-destemmers are less expensive, though they can be less efficient. Since they crush first, there is also the possibility of undesirable flavors from the juice running over the stems.
Wine press
Pressing the grapes is an iconic part of the winemaking process. Some traditions include grapes being stomped by human feet, but machine presses are much more efficient. These machines exert pressure on the grapes to get the juice out without crushing the seeds, which would result in unwanted tannins finding their way into the flavor. Small wineries may want to consider a smaller unit like a basket or bladder press.
Wine tanks
After the juice is extracted, it will need to be put into acid-resistant containers called wine tanks. These can be stainless steel, concrete or wood and can be different sizes or shapes to make the best use of your space. There are basically two types of tanks: one for storing the mash and one used for fermentation. For a small winery, tanks with volumes ranging between 1,000 and 3,000 liters should work fine. They will each need pressure regulators, cooling and heating systems, insulation, agitators and mash plungers.
Pumps and byproduct containers
Finally, no winery equipment installation is complete without wine pumps to transfer the wine to different containers. These pumps are also essential for transferring byproducts like wastewater into containers for proper disposal. These pumps need to be strong enough to handle thicker substances than just water.
When you need winery equipment installation, along with reliable maintenance and repair service, get in touch with the experienced professionals at American Refrigeration Inc. Call today to arrange a consultation—we look forward to working with you!
A refrigerator is a refrigerator, right? Yes—that is, unless you’ve ever been in a commercial kitchen. There’s an obvious difference between commercial refrigerators and residential refrigerators once you’ve seen them both. While they both technically do the same thing, there are some key differences in the way they get their jobs done and in the way we need to interact with them.
Here are some of the main differences, as well as some of the similarities, between commercial and residential refrigeration.
Similarities
Before we get into differences between residential and commercial refrigerators, let’s start with the similarities. Both do basically the same thing—that is, they keep food and beverages at a cold temperature. This goes for freezers as well. They are so similar, in fact, that a residential fridge could be used in a commercial setting, and a commercial refrigerator can be installed in a residential setting.
While you’re not likely to see a refrigerator model that’s designed for an apartment installed as the workhorse cooler for a restaurant, there has been a trend of commercial units being installed in residential spaces. If you’ve got the space for it—and the budget for maintenance—this can be a very handy appliance to have in your kitchen.
Differences
One of the main differences between residential and commercial refrigerators is their size. Commercial fridges are larger than residential units—often much larger. They are designed to hold a lot more food and substantially larger containers than are common for home use. This extra space can come in handy when you’re hosting get-togethers with a lot of food and drinks. The downside is if your kitchen is on the smaller side, a commercial fridge may end up taking up more room than you bargained for.
Because of that large size, commercial refrigerators also require much more power than residential models. They get colder faster, and that means they use more powerful components like compressors to maintain a consistent temperature even when the door is open. The downside here is that it will use more energy on a regular basis, which, in turn, will raise your energy bill.
That extra power also leads to more maintenance. Because they are more specialized, commercial refrigerators need regular maintenance and service to make sure they keep working in top condition. This has to be done by commercial refrigeration technicians, which can cost more than a residential refrigeration technician.
Another difference is aesthetics. Commercial units are often stainless steel, which gives a clean, modern look. Residential appliances are also available in this look, so it’s easier now to blend a commercial unit in with the look of the rest of your kitchen. This holds true for main refrigerators as well as drawer and standalone freezer units.
When you need any type of refrigeration service for your commercial property, reach out to the experienced professionals at American Refrigeration Inc. for the best, most reliable service. We’d be glad to take a look at your equipment and get to the bottom of any issues.
