Danfoss unveils CO₂ controller for small stores

In response to the significant growth in the uptake of CO₂-based refrigeration systems in the food retail industry, the Danish component manufacturer Danfoss has unveiled two new products using CO₂ as a refrigerant, a controller for small-store formats and an electric expansion valve.

According to the company website, the products are the AK-PC 572 MiniPack controller for small stores and the AKVP expansion valve. 

The controller has been available globally since January. In Europe, several OEMs are testing the product or have decided to introduce it in their CO₂ racks, said a Danfoss spokesperson.

The expansion valve will be available globally in September, but it has already been installed in more than 30,000 locations (mainly in Europe) and has beein in trials globally, the spokesperson said.

"It's not too long ago that we here at Danfoss stood up and boldly declared, 'We love CO₂!'" the company says on its website. "This proclamation contained all the passion, knowledge and hard work that has gone into shifting the food retail industry from HFCs toward natural refrigerants."

AK-PC 572 MiniPack controller
Made for small store formats, this controller is a compact version of the AK-PC 781 pack controller, which has been in the market for over a decade. Danfoss says that this product contains all the essential functionality of a dedicated CO₂ controller but with reduced complexity and ease of use.

The controller is "developed in a more compact electronics platform, making the footprint significantly smaller," said the company spokesperson. "It is configured with a PC programming tool or in five-to-ten minutes via the graphical user interface."

Other features include:

• Variable speed capacity and Bitzer Ecoline with cylinder decoupling.
• Simple to integrate with separate heating system
• Booster with up to 5 compressors or single suction group
• Gas cooler and receiver control
• Optional features like heat recovery, hot gas dump and liquid injection

AKVP expansion valve
For use in food retail refrigeration solutions, this electric expansion valve also features reduced complexity and has a number of advantages to ensure food safety and reduce operating costs in terms of service and energy expenses, says Danfoss.

For example, it contains a "new nozzle with 50% increased capacity for CO₂ and increased dampening," said the spokesperson. 

Other features include system energy optimization (MSS, ALC), remote monitoring, fault detection, adaptive defrosting when paired with the ADAP-KOOL suite of electronic controllers, and decreased pipe movement and audibility. Click here to learn more.