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Refrigeration

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Demand for Cold Storage Development Heats Up

Source: CBRE’s latest research report

Growth in online grocery sales is stoking demand for cold storage facilities across the United States, according to a new research report from CBRE. The real estate services and investment firm found that up to 100 million square feet of additional capacity is needed to meet online sales through 2022.  

However, the cost and complexity of cold storage construction could make meeting that demand difficult. The resulting shortage will likely cause cold storage to become an even more coveted real estate asset – and those willing to invest in the market stand to reap major rewards. 

Read below for the top insights from CBRE’s latest cold storage report. 

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How Stellar Services Industrial Refrigeration Compressors [VIDEO]

We recently updated our refrigeration parts and compressor shops in Jacksonville, Florida, and Fort Worth, Texas. (Stellar also has shops in Modesto, California and York, Pennsylvania.) Each facility offers climate-controlled storage spaces and a compressor shop with a separate teardown room, clean room and paint booth.

From the time a compressor arrives at one of Stellar’s service facilities to the time it leaves, it undergoes an unrivaled 75-point quality inspection — a rigorous examination unlike any in the industry. Continue Reading “How Stellar Services Industrial Refrigeration Compressors [VIDEO]”

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Ammonia Refrigeration: Is Your Machine Room Ventilation Up to Code?

When it comes to ammonia refrigeration machine rooms, ventilation updates can often be overlooked.

Current and new mechanical codes — International Mechanical Code (IMC) and Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC) — defer to IIAR 2 (and sometimes ASHRAE 15) as the referenced code for ammonia refrigeration systems, including the machine room ventilation.

Just because your ammonia system was designed to code years ago it may not necessarily be code compliant today.

If you have updated your refrigeration system recently, did you update your machine room’s ventilation as well?

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Industrial Refrigeration: Your Options as R22 Refrigerant Is Phased Out

This is the last year that R22 can be manufactured in or imported to the United States.

As a reminder, here’s the timeline according to the EPA final rule: 

  • On January 1, 2018, R22 production dropped 30% from the 2017 supply to 9 million pounds
  • On January 1, 2019, production dropped 55% from the 2018 supply to 4 million pounds
  • On January 1, 2020, R22 will be phased out completely with no new or imported R22 allowed in the U.S.

If your refrigeration system uses R22, you have some decisions to make — and the clock is ticking.

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HFC Refrigerant Regulations: What to Do as States Adopt SNAP Rule 20

When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced they were going to phase out hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants in 2015, many in the industry began preparing for the coming changes. The new proposed regulations under Section 612 of the Clean Air Act, known as SNAP Rule 20, established a schedule to phase out common HFC refrigerants such as R-22, R-124 and R-507.

However, when major chemical companies challenged the EPA in federal court in 2017, a judge ruled the EPA didn’t have the authority to mandate the changes. Attempts to appeal the court’s decision failed, and the EPA acknowledged they will not enforce the rule.

However, just because the rule was overturned at the federal level doesn’t mean you’re in the clear if you use these refrigerants.

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Keep Your Cool: How to Prep Your Refrigeration System for Peak Summer Performance

Summer is around the corner, which means now is the time to ensure your refrigeration system is ready for the upcoming hot months. Summertime is when these systems work their hardest, so how can you make sure yours is running efficiently and at peak performance levels?

Here’s a short checklist to prepare your refrigeration system for the summer:

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Choosing the Right Refrigeration Condenser: 5 Variables to Consider

Condensers are one of the most critical elements of a refrigeration system. While optimizing the performance of your condenser is important for reducing energy usage and maintenance costs, if you’re building a new facility, it all starts with selecting the best option for your needs.

Location

When choosing a condenser, it’s important to consider where the facility is located. In colder climates, ice buildup and water freezing may occur with evaporative condensers. To work around this issue, you have two options:

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5 Lessons Logistics Companies Can Learn From Caspers’ New Refrigerated Distribution Facility

Caspers Cold Storage & Distribution, Florida’s oldest third-party logistics company, recently opened a new state-of-the-art refrigerated distribution facility in Tampa that is helping transform the company into one of the most dynamic leaders in cold storage distribution today. The 116,000-square-foot facility is key to Caspers’ new business model as a frozen-food storage provider. It includes:   

  • An 87,000-square-foot, -10°F freezer
  • Two -48°F blast cells
  • A 16,000-square-foot, 35°F truck dock
  • Machine and maintenance rooms
  • Offices and employee welfare areas

The facility was designed and built by Stellar, which overcame several building complexities to complete the project quickly and under budget. Here are five lessons companies can learn from Caspers’ new refrigerated distribution facility.

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Installing Packaged Refrigeration vs. Traditional Systems [Infographic]

Low-charge packaged refrigeration is a safe, innovative solution that uses CO2 or ammonia and a secondary refrigerant, such as glycol. This allows facilities to reap the benefits of ammonia’s excellent thermodynamic properties while minimizing the refrigerant charge and risk because the ammonia is isolated to one area and only the secondary refrigerant is circulated throughout the facility.                                                                  

The system is “packaged” or “modular,” with refrigeration equipment built off-site, mounted on a structural steel base, and then delivered to a plant as a self-contained, “plug-and-play” system.

One of the major advantages of a packaged refrigeration system is ease of installation. Here are some of the main reasons why:

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6 Hot Trends in Cold Storage Warehouse Construction

At Stellar, we construct a lot of cold storage facilities and distribution centers. In fact, over the years we’ve designed and built more than 10 million square feet of public refrigerated warehouse space.

My point? We notice patterns in consumer demand, common challenges and external factors that influence the market as a whole.

Here are six of the top things affecting the cold storage construction industry right now.

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