ALDI Nord employs CO₂ integrated HVAC tech in new Spain store

In November 2018 German retailer ALDI Nord opened a new supermarket in Estepona (near Malaga, Spain) using a CO₂ transcritical system that integrates HVAC and refrigeration technology, reports Spanish HVAC&R news website interempresas.net.

The choice of system for the new Spanish store matches ALDI Nord’s wider strategy of adopting natural refrigerants. The discount retailer aims to invest in a mixture of CO₂ cooling systems, freezers and overhead units using propane (R290), an R290 heating and cooling heat pump (known as the Esycool green, made by Viessmann), and heat recovery for future store installations, according to its 2017 Climate Protection Policy plan.

The Estepona store employs CO₂ transcritical refrigeration technology using parallel compression, provided by Spanish company Tewis Smart. It was installed by local firm Friex, whose technical engineer, Fernando García Gómez, authored the interempresas.net article.

Electronics from Eliwell, cabinets from Frost-Trol and a gas cooler by Alfa Laval were also used in the installation.  

The store employs heat recovery. An advanced control system developed by Tewis manages the compressors, gas cooler, the air-handling unit (AHU) and all the valves to provide air conditioning (AC) during the summer and heating during the winter for the whole store. AC and heating is also provided to the customer toilets and changing rooms for store personnel.

The system took four weeks to plan and install. The store opened on 28 November.