'CO₂ best refrigerant for grocery stores,' says U.S.-based contractor

"I'm all for CO₂, personally and professionally," said Robert Leonard, responsible for business development at U.S.-based refrigeration contractor Key Mechanical, during ATMOsphere America 2019, held June 17-18 in Atlanta, Ga.

"I think it's the best refrigerant to go with for grocery store applications."

Key Mechanical designs, builds and maintains refrigeration systems for several food retailers in the U.S. in the states of Washington, Oregon and California.

So far, it has installed around a dozen transcritical CO₂ systems for grocery stores in the region.

Speaking during the Contractor's Panel session on day two of the conference, Leonard gave a number of reasons why Key Mechanical is becoming increasingly confident in its CO₂ solutions.

"Our first one was five years ago and since that time, costs have come down almost at parity for installation," said Leonard.

In addition, Leonard said that the company has encountered minimal issues with on-going maintenance.

"For service, they're great," said Leonard.

"The CO₂ systems are wonderful," he added. "They seem to operate completely within parameters and more or less we haven't had any major incidents at any CO₂ location."

The company's technicians are also gaining CO₂ experience, Leonard explained, which is helping reduce installation costs. "The technicians are installing them and they're learning, so the learning curve is helping with those costs."

With respect to operation in high ambient temperatures, Leonard said that he has seen its CO₂ systems operating well in warmer and warmer climates.

"When we first started, it had to be within that certain band of temperature and climate," said Leonard. "But now we are able to add them virtually anywhere. We did one in Fresno, California where in the summer, it is very hot and it's working great."

Key Mechanical is a dealer of Hillphoenix CO₂ systems and works closely with the company on CO₂ installations.