Emerson Completes R&D Labs for Sustainable HVAC&R in Ohio

U.S. component manufacturer Emerson Commercial and Residential Solutions has completed the second phase of a four-year-old, US$100 million renovation project at its main campus in Sidney, Ohio (U.S.), including 110,000ft² (10,220m²) of development labs that will work on transcritical CO₂ (R744) technology.

The facility was ready for use at the end of 2020.

The facility includes laboratories that will focus on “product research, development and testing of the next generation of compressors, electronics, controls and other critical technologies for the global heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) industry,” said Brent Schroeder, Group President for Heating and Air Conditioning at Emerson Commercial and Residential Solutions, a division of St. Louis, Missouri (U.S.)-based Emerson. Schroeder was quoted in an article in the Sidney Daily News. 

The R&D taking place in Sidney will include work on new transcritical CO₂ solutions. “These labs are designed to accelerate product development, collaborate with OEM partners and end-user customers, and help deliver simplified CO₂ solutions for the industry,” Andre Patenaude, Emerson’s Director of Solutions Integration, said in November 2020.

This will be Emerson’s second R&D facility that develops CO₂ products, following its $35 million Helix Innovation Center in nearby Dayton, Ohio, which opened in 2016.

Schroeder stressed that the development work at the new Sidney labs “will help bring environmentally responsible refrigerants into new HVACR systems, including residential air conditioners and the air conditioners and refrigeration systems found in stores, restaurants and other commercial buildings.”

The renovated facility will include 76 compressor test rooms. “Much of the work in the new labs will focus on testing designs and products that are capable of reaching the higher efficiencies required by government regulations, ensuring that these products perform effectively and safely with more sustainable, alternative refrigerants,” Schroeder explained.

Emerson’s current refrigeration products, marketed under the company’s Commercial & Residential Solutions division, include a wide range of commercial and industrial components for CO2, and propane (R290), as well as ammonia (R717) under its Vilter brand.