Parasense provides refrigerant solutions for House of Fraser

The specialist gourmet area contains freshly prepared dishes as well as high quality meats, fish, poultry, cheese and delicatessen items from around the globe, all of which require varying degrees of refrigeration to guarantee freshness. If a major refrigerant leak were to occur, the cost and health implications could be considerable.

The refrigeration plant, customer facing cabinets and storage facilities are covered by the system that immediately alerts relevant parties if refrigerant gas leakage occurs. It is designed to provide an early warning to maintenance contractors and plant engineers and therefore minimises the risk of stock loss, reduces environmental damage and enables pre-planned maintenance visits.

Polar Refrigeration Ltd, the company contracted to install and maintain the refrigeration system in 'World of Food', recommended the Parasense GRM. The advanced IP communications technology and infra-red capability offer a reliable, cost effective and focused approach to the problem of leaking refrigerant.

With the large number of refrigerated display cabinets in 'World of Food', being able to pinpoint leakage areas, preventing a major leak and reducing gas losses represent a significant savings. Polar Refrigeration encouraged House of Fraser to consider a refrigerant gas leak detection system as an environmental precaution as well as for the cost implications. It is far better to catch and repair a leak when it is very small than risk letting the system deteriorate, resulting in the loss of stock and further disruption.

Large scale refrigeration projects are required to comply with increasingly stringent environmental regulations surrounding refrigerant gas emissions. These include the requirement that users must keep records of the ozone-depleting refrigerant gases used and when they are topped-up. The GRM system produces a data file that can be manipulated to provide comprehensive management reports and leakage trend graphs for maintenance engineers to keep accurate records.

Aware of the impending regulations and compliance requirements involving F-gas and EN378 in particular, House of Fraser decided to take a proactive approach. Rather than risk potential disruption of the shop floor and trading, it decided to install the system in the construction phase of the project.

Being involved from the early stages was a distinct advantage for Parasense. The pipe work could be concealed and the sampling points could be situated in discreet locations neatly within the refrigeration cabinets and the cold stores. These areas are difficult to access once the decorative finishing has been completed and the refrigeration cabinets have been secured in place.

Because refrigerant gases are colourless and odorless, it is often difficult to detect when and where leaks occur, especially from the concealed pipework below the trading floor. The beauty of the Parasense infra-red system is that it is highly sensitive and can detect trace amounts of refrigerant gas thus enabling leaks to be repaired before they become a major problem.

The GRM takes air samples which are pumped into the infra-red sensor capable of measuring traces of gas as low as 40 parts per million. Each gas can be identified by its individual infra-red absorption spectra (its fingerprint) virtually eliminating false readings and improving accuracy.

An innovative approach was used in 'World of Food's' unique configuration. The Parasense GRM was interfaced with the RDM (Resource Data Management Ltd) refrigerant management system, working in tandem to alert Polar Refrigeration of any problems. By accessing information remotely, Polar has the ability to assess the scale and location of leakage before initiating the correct response. RDM provides the Ethernet IP interface link that allows 'virtual' access by all parties involved.

“House of Fraser provides a large number of luxury items in 'World of Food,' therefore a sophisticated leak detection system and reliable procedures are essential,” said Mike Cahill, Key Account Manager at Parasense. “The system Parasense has installed is even able to pinpoint a low level of refrigerant leakage quickly and effectively, so House of Fraser Croydon can rest assured that its refrigerated product is in the best hands.”

“Our philosophy, as an installation contractor,” explains Don Crabb, Managing Director of Polar Refrigeration Ltd, “is to educate customers of their responsibilities with regard to emissions of refrigerant gases into the atmosphere. By encouraging our customers to install effective monitoring systems, they will comply with forthcoming government guidelines and health and safety regulations where the onus is being placed on them to manage their refrigeration systems better. Any major refrigerant leak has environmental as well as cost implications for the end user. We believe the Parasense system, with its very accurate infra-red technology, is the most suitable for this project to ensure any leak is detected before it gets out of control.”

According to a 'World of Food' spokesperson: “It is comforting to know that on the shop floor we have a state-of-the-art monitoring system within our cold chain. It enables us to trade confidently in the knowledge that the product we give to our customers is maintained at the appropriate temperatures, and that the monitoring systems allow us to respond quickly should there be any deviation.”

As the F-gas legislation approaches, the specialists will need to collaborate to ensure they provide an holistic solution. The House of Fraser project represents an ideal scenario in which several teams of specialists have worked together from the outset to develop practical solutions.