Star Refrigeration has helped a world class cheese spread manufacturer upgrade its refrigeration plant to comply with F-gas regulations. The company has overseen the replacement of two refrigeration plants serving Primula’s principal cheese store facility in Team Valley in Gateshead, near Newcastle.
As the UK and Europe continue to phase down harmful refrigerants in an attempt to slow global warming, plants across the UK require upgrading to remain compliant. Star successfully transitioned the plant from R422D – which will soon become untenable under new F-Gas Regulations – to the more future- proofed R513A. The two businesses have been in a successful partnership for over 15 years, and in 2008 Star had already converted the original R22 plants to enable operation with R422D refrigerant which extended the life of the plants by over 10 years.
From January 1st 2020, the EU will introduce a service ban on all refrigerants with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of over 2,500. Since R422D has a GWP of 2,729, it would have become problematic to Primula to continue running their cheese store. This, in conjunction with the age of the plant, prompted Primula to opt for a complete replacement of the two plants to achieve regulatory compliance, optimise efficiency and ensure its viability going forward.
Star replaced the plants with new equipment utilising a refrigerant with a far lower GWP. In this instance, Star determined that R513A a has a comparatively low GWP of just 631, which is well below the 2,500 threshold and should ensure the plant remains viable in its current state for the foreseeable future.
