Topten, an online guide for energy-efficient products, has listed Lithuanian manufacturer Freor’s propane (R290) commercial refrigeration cabinets, including its JUPITER and IDA S range models and ERIDA freezer.
Topten presents the “best” models in various product categories as a research tool, covering 15 European and four Latin American countries. Energy efficiency and consumption are key selection criteria, with resource efficiency and health also taken into consideration, Topten says on its website.
“Technical measures for commercial refrigeration listing include using natural refrigerants and a maximum energy index as given for each refrigeration equipment category,” Freor said in its press release. The manufacturer’s featured models are found on Topten under vertical display cabinets (plug-in), horizontal display cabinets (plug-in) and vertical display cabinets (remote).
As a multideck large-capacity chiller cabinet, the JUPITER model operates on R290 refrigerant in a glycol-loop system that the company calls Hydroloop. The cabinet provides different configurations, either as a separate island or joined in rows, and “features glass doors, energy-saving electronically commutated fans, LED lighting and other energy-efficient solutions,” Freor said.
The Topten listing also includes the company’s CO2 (R744)-based version of its JUPITER model that uses a remote cooling system.
Freor’s R290 IDA S models for promotional display cabinets, including IDA S, IDA S H1, IDA COMPACT S and IDA COMPACT S H1, made the Topten listing. These units, operating autonomously in a plug-and-play configuration, can be easily moved and feature glass lids, “saving up to 50% of the energy typically lost with open commercial refrigeration equipment, with 360° merchandise visibility,” Freor said.
The ERIDA model upright freezer uses R290 refrigerant connected to a Hydroloop condensing system to preserve frozen food behind large glass panels, which “results in up to 25% more energy savings,” the company said.
Freor noted that Switzerland offers a financial incentive to purchase commercial plug-in refrigeration equipment featured by Topten. Such units are eligible for up to a 30% reimbursement through a rebate program operated by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.
Additional energy savings
According to Freor, a recent renovation of a Fajne Potraviny grocery store in Košice, Slovakia, obtained about a 30% reduction in energy consumption by using multiple units ‒ JUPITER and ERIDA models ‒ connected to a Hydroloop condensing system.
Applying continuous cooling technology ‒ developed by Freor in conjunction with Italian component producer Carel ‒ can further reduce the energy consumption of commercial refrigerated cabinets, according to Rytis Bernatonis, Founder and CEO of Freor.
The continuous cooling technology, available in all of Freor’s R290 cabinets, adjusts compressor speed based on inside cabinet temperature to reduce energy consumption compared to traditional control systems. “In frozen-food cabinets, we see energy use reduced by 70%, and in medium-temperature cases, energy savings can be up to 30%,” Bernatonis said.
Headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, Freor “manufactures almost 20,000 units of refrigeration equipment annually,” according to a company You Tube video.
“Technical measures for commercial refrigeration listing include using natural refrigerants and a maximum energy index as given for each refrigeration equipment category.”
Freor
