It’s a new day in the world of refrigeration. As of January 1, 2020, the United States has begun a methodical phase-out of ozone-depleting substances (ODS). While the more toxic class I substances have already been eliminated, now it’s time for the U.S. to begin getting rid of class II ozone-depleting substances, also known as hydrochlorofluorocarbons. That’s where your refrigerator comes in.
Most commercial-sized refrigeration units are powered by hydrochlorofluorocarbons (mercifully abbreviated as HCFC-22 or R-22) in Eugene, OR. As of the first of the year, these substances will no longer be produced or imported to the United States. While the continued use of HCFC-22 isn’t illegal, there will arise occasions where it’s advisable to transition your company’s refrigeration system to an alternative refrigerant.
Expansion
If your business is poised for expansion in the coming years, it might be a good idea to start shopping for alternative refrigerants. Why? Due to the phase-out of R-22 in Eugene, OR, new HCFC-22-based systems cannot be legally installed in a commercial setting. Business owners can purchase repurposed or reclaimed HCFC-22 systems, but those may not offer the same reliability as a virgin system.
Price
You might balk at the thought of installing an entirely new refrigeration system, but making the transition to an alternative refrigerant can actually improve your bottom line. Alternative refrigerants run more efficiently than HCFC-22, which amounts to lower monthly energy payments.
What’s more, the longer that R-22 continues as a phased-out substance, the harder and harder it will be to find replacement parts and repurposed systems. Reduced availability means an increased price to replace.
Effort
As HCFC-22 continues to be phased out, repurposed parts will be harder to find. Perhaps even more important, finding an expert who is capable of repairing and maintaining an HCFC-22-powered refrigeration system will be more difficult.
At what point does your time become a factor in the management of your refrigeration system? Regardless of which industry you’re in, you no doubt expected that you could devote the meat of your workday to doing business, not making sure that your refrigerator is working correctly.
Take the next step with American Refrigeration Inc.
If you’re thinking about replacing your R-22 or HCFC-22 equipment in Eugene, OR, then you don’t need to plan alone. Place a call to American Refrigeration Inc., where we have more than 20 years of experience serving the extended Eugene and Portland areas.
In addition to our refrigeration services, we also specialize in commercial HVAC, air conditioning and heating maintenance and repair. It doesn’t matter what type of environment you’re working in—we have the skill and the knowledge to fix anything from an ultra-cooled laboratory environment to a walk-in wine cellar.
Because we understand that your business relies in part on your HVAC systems working properly, we’re happy to offer efficient, effective emergency service 24 hours a day and seven days a week. When you need the best, you deserve American Refrigeration Inc. Give us a call or visit us online today. We can’t wait to hear from you.
Cold storage rooms are frequently used inside factories, shops, warehouses and restaurants for keeping large quantities of goods cool at once. If you’re planning to install a cold storage room somewhere on your premises, it is important you know how to operate them effectively.
Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions we receive about cold storage rooms in Eugene, OR that should give you some valuable insight into how they work.
Q: What do I need to install a cold storage room?
You’re going to need a sufficient amount of real estate, for starters. Cold storage rooms can be the size of walk-in closets, or they can cover massive areas, depending on the amount and type of goods you need to store. You’ll also need to make sure you have a level concrete floor and foundation on which to install it.
Q: How is a cold storage room constructed?
The process of building a cold storage room will have several phases. First will be the construction of the insulated structure. Once that main structure is complete, the next phase is installation of the refrigeration equipment. Finally, all the trimmings and finishings of the insulated structure can be completed, and then the system will be ready to be put into full use.
Q: What size can I expect a cold storage room to be?
The size of your cold storage room is really up to you, as is the configuration. They can be custom-built to any size. It’s worth checking with other companies in your industry to see what size they use, if you know they have needs similar to those of your company.
Q: What do I need to know about temperature control?
You will be able to control the cold storage room based on the storage temperature you select at the control area. The length of time it takes for the cold storage room to actually reach your desired temperature will depend on your particular application and needs. Factors will include the product head load, the amount of product you’re storing, the total weight, the size of the room and the equipment you’re using.
The good news is that you won’t have to worry about hot weather impacting the operation of your cold storage room, so long as the room has been designed correctly.
Q: What do I need to know about equipment?
Cold storage rooms will require 1Phase 220V or 3Phase 380V systems. Any system larger than a 2HP unit will require that 3Phase supply.
With regard to the condensing unit, usually this will be placed outside in a spot where it can be easily connected to the internal evaporator blower coil with copper tubing and wiring. While you can expect some noise from the freezer unit, it should not be an excessive amount.
For more information about cold storage rooms in Eugene, OR and what you should know about their installation and operation, we encourage you to reach out to American Refrigeration Inc. today.
If you run a restaurant or cafeteria, one of the most important pieces of equipment you will have at your facility is your refrigeration unit. You are likely to have several units, whether they be walk-in freezers or refrigerators or standard reach-in refrigerated containers. If you’re looking to add new refrigeration options, you might be wondering whether a reach-in container or a cold storage room in Eugene, OR is the better way to go.
It’s important to note that one does not necessarily have to replace the other, and there are benefits to each type of system. Let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons of refrigerated containers in particular.
Reach-in refrigeration: Advantages and disadvantages
The biggest benefit associated with reach-in refrigerated containers is that they will take up less space. You don’t have to dedicate nearly as much real estate to them as you do to walk-in units. Their very nature also makes them more flexible with regard to where you can place them. As long as there is a power source and enough space to put them there, you have versatile options for how you will lay out your kitchen spaces. Compare this to a walk-in freezer, where once you have it set up, there’s no moving it—it is a part of the architectural design of your space.
There are ADA-compliant models available for reach-in refrigeration units and freezers, and any unit you get will come with shelving already installed. You will need to consider, though, that reach-in units will give you much less storage capacity than what you’d get from a walk-in unit. This is why reach-in units are generally used in conjunction with walk-in units, and not as a replacement or substitute for them.
However, despite the less available storage space, accessing the items you’ve stored there is much more convenient. All you have to do is open up the door and reach in, rather than step in and walk to the area where your specific item is stored. While the self-contained nature of reach-in refrigeration units can add some heat and noise to the room, the level of extra convenience they provide cannot be understated, especially for items you use frequently in your commercial kitchen. They enhance the productivity of your kitchen space and ensure you spend less time hunting down ingredients and food items.
Reach-in refrigeration units also have more energy-efficient models than what you’d find from walk-in units. While walk-in units can use less power when used in place of multiple reach-ins, individual reach-ins have much better levels of efficiency and come in Energy Star models.
Installation is simpler, and most reach-in models are much more affordable than walk-ins.
These are just a few examples of some of the biggest pros and cons associated with the use of refrigerated containers and reach-in refrigeration units as opposed to cold storage rooms in Eugene, OR. For more information about the services we provide and the kinds of refrigeration you should seek for your commercial kitchen, contact American Refrigeration Inc. today.
For decades, most air conditioning units—residential as well as commercial—have relied, in part, on a gas called difluoro monochloromethane to help keep homes cool. This colorless gas, which is (mercifully) also known as HCFC-22, or R-22, has been the gold standard in refrigeration up until now. Throughout the 2020s, however, the United States government will begin a phase-out of parts and services for systems that rely on HCFC-22.
So, with all that in mind, you’re probably wondering, “When should I convert my company’s equipment to an alternative refrigerant in Eugene, OR?” We have the answer.
Why the phase-out?
Recent studies have indicated that HCFC-22 is exceptionally hazardous to the environment. The role that HCFC-22 plays in an air conditioning system sees the gas released into the atmosphere as a byproduct. Unfortunately, HCFC-22 is also a very potent greenhouse gas. It is 1,800 times more destructive than carbon dioxide. As a result, its eventual abandonment was inevitable.
In a world that’s always looking for ways to combat climate change, a slow-moving ban on HCFC-22 is a step in the right direction.
What does this mean for my business?
If you currently have a properly functioning HVAC system that relies on HCFC-22, then the answer to the question of when you should convert your company’s equipment to an alternative refrigerant in Eugene, OR is simple: there’s no rush. That said, there are some conditions you should be aware of:
Keeping your system maintained is more essential than ever. You should have a plan in place to repair any leaks in your system.
If you need to expand your system in the future, problems could arise.
It may become increasingly expensive to service and repair your HVAC system into the future.
No one is going to drop fines or seize your HVAC equipment. A phase-out simply means that the parts and servicing experience relevant to your HCFC-22 equipment will become increasingly rare.
Preventative maintenance is more important than ever
While possession and use of an HCFC-22 system isn’t a legal problem, you can expect officials to become more vigilant about issues that arise with your system. That means it’s absolutely crucial to ensure that your system is running a peak efficiency at all times.
You likely already have an HVAC maintenance routine in place to prevent climbing energy costs, unexpected failures and other unforeseen problems. Now, you’ll need to make sure your HVAC team is looking for issues with your HCFC-22 system.
We’re ready to help you
Still curious about when you should convert your Eugene, OR company’s equipment to an alternative refrigerant? Call American Refrigeration Inc. and let one of our experienced professionals work with you to establish a solution and a timeline that works for your business and your budget.
Whether you choose to continue using your HCFC-22 system or you need a strategy for transitioning to a new system, we can help! We have more than 20 years of experience servicing HVAC units and commercial refrigeration systems of every kind, and we have the track record to prove it.
When you want the best, make it American Refrigeration Inc. We can’t wait to work with you.
If you combed back through the annals of history, making a note of all of humankind’s most important inventions, you’d be hard pressed to find much that’s more monumental, more critical to our everyday life, than the development of refrigeration. The ability to preserve food and, eventually, other essential items, for extended periods helped sustain people through the winter. It allowed more people to focus less on food cultivation and pursue other worthwhile endeavors. Indeed, refrigeration just might be one of the building blocks of civilization.
Today, that fact is underscored by the number of applications for refrigeration and the scope of commercial freezer services in Eugene, OR.
Serving every industry under the sun
The number of industries that make daily use of commercial freezer services in Eugene, OR is truly astonishing. Throughout the Eugene area, supermarkets and convenience stores big and small keep their food and drink cold with some help from commercial freezers. In fact, across Oregon and around the world, more and more people are filling their grocery carts with frozen food. That means more commercial refrigerators and freezers than ever before.
Beyond the grocery store, commercial freezers play a crucial role in medical laboratories, hotels and restaurants. Large farms and agricultural ventures will find so much to love in a walk-in freezer that can keep goods at the perfect temperature.
Keep things running
Once you’ve found the perfect commercial freezer, the smartest thing to do is schedule routine visits from a qualified professional. Putting experienced eyes on your freezers and refrigerators can have numerous benefits:
Neglected equipment leads to break-downs. Broken refrigeration units and freezers can lead to lost product, which, in turn, could lead to lost clients.
For those in the food service industry, imagine a health inspector popping by your kitchen only to discover that your refrigeration unit isn’t up to standard.
Faulty refrigeration units cost money. Every single month that an ailing unit goes unrepaired, energy costs go up just a little bit more. In the world of business ownership, every dollar matters.
Perhaps most importantly for business owners, routine maintenance saves you money. After all, when your refrigeration system breaks down, not only does it stop your business in its tracks, but it can cost big money to call for emergency repairs and parts.
When emergencies happen
On a long enough timeline, no matter how well you maintain your refrigeration and freezer systems, they will eventually fail. If life experience is any indication, the moment your freezer shuts down will be the absolute worst moment possible. When disasters happen, make sure you have the number of a qualified and competent technician who will be able to come to your aid 24 hours a day.
Our difference
At American Refrigeration Inc., we specialize in a vast array of commercial freezer services in Eugene, OR. From installation to repair to preventative maintenance, our team of highly-skilled technicians can make your refrigeration issues a thing of the past. We even offer emergency services 24 hours a day.
We’re committed to your complete satisfaction, and it’s time to let us prove it to you. Give us a call or visit us online today.
