CO2 systems save 30% heat energy in Kesco&rsquo;s stores in Finland&nbsp;

A new Kesco store equipped with a CO₂refrigeration system opened its doors in September 2012 in the Veturi Shopping Centre in Kouvola, Finland. The retailer has reported that their stores using carbon dioxide as refrigerant consume 30% less heat energy compared to stores using other refrigerants.

In September 2012, food retailer Kesco opened a CO₂ store within the Veturi Shopping Centre in Kouvola, Finland.

Recovered condensation heat from refrigeration systems helps save energy

A ground heating system was implemented in the Veturi shopping mall. Half of the cooling and heating power of the shopping centre is derived from the ground.

Condensation heat derived from the cooling of the chest freezers is recovered and used for the heating of the shopping centre. Thanks to the heat recovery, the store will not need to make use of the district heating network until ambient temperatures drop well below zero. Nearly all Kesco stores now recover the condensation heat from their refrigeration systems.

“CO₂ as refrigerant consume 30% less heat energy”

”Recovered carbon dioxide is a safe refrigerant which does not deplete the ozone layer like freons, which were used earlier but are forbidden today” stated Jari Pihlajamaa, Maintenance Manager of Kesko Food in October 2012 on the occasion of an Energy Saving Week campaign running from 8 to 14 October 2012. “The stores using carbon dioxide as refrigerant consume 30% less heat energy than stores using other refrigerants", he added.

Half of Kesco’s new stores use CO₂

In recent years, Kesco has been rolling out CO₂ refrigeration in its stores in Northern Europe. About half of new Kesco food stores use carbon dioxide collected from industrial processes as coolant in in-store equipment. Another recent CO₂ store example is the K-supermarket Hämeenkylä in Helsinki that Kesco opened in August 2012.

About Kesco

Kesko has about 2,000 stores engaged in chain operations in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Belarus. Kesko's operations include the food, home and specialty goods, building and home improvement, and car and machinery trades.