Refrigeration sector monitoring

The latest in laptop cooling technology

The latest developments in laptop cooling technology are based on liquid cooling systems which are thermally more efficient than regular air-based systems. In the past, liquid cooling was not a practical option for laptops because there wasn’t...

• Publication date : 2013/06/25

Mini containers, an energy-efficient solution for small farmers?

To benefit small growers, a team of researchers investigated the concept of mini containers that would consume less energy and produce fewer GHG emissions than conventional full-size...

• Publication date : 2022/12/12
• Subjects: Technology

Mac news: Solar air conditioning for Toyota’s Prius

Toyota's ecological Prius gas-electric hybrid car is to take solar air conditioning on board next year, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported in early September. The solar panels on the roof of the new Prius model will provide 2-5 kW of electricity...

• Publication date : 2008/10/25

Briefs: Iran has LNG plans on a very large scale

Iran is reportedly planning to finance up to 120 billion USD for LNG production over the next 12 years and become the world's largest LNG exporter. As of now, there are no LNG industries in Iran, but there are gas resources estimated at 27.5...

• Publication date : 2008/10/25

Automobile technology: what’s new?

Delphi Corporation has developed a reversible CO 2 car air-conditioning system using air-coolant heat-pump technology. Delphi says that the system allows better integration into the vehicle and a higher performance-to-cost ratio than other...

• Publication date : 2005/10/26

Mele Kaliki Cool!

An USD 3-4 million dollar deep-seawater cooling system is to form part of a USD 100 million redevelopment project underway in Hawaii to meet the island's air-conditioning requirements. The system, to be designed by the Honolulu Board of Water...

• Publication date : 2005/07/19

Briefs: Refrigerated windmill provides drinking water

A windmill equipped with a small cooling system produces up to 200 litres of drinking water/day. Collecting moisture from wind was already applied in Chile for instance, but by adding the small cooling device, it was possible for Marc Parent, the...

• Publication date : 2010/05/27

Briefs: Cooling the Venus rover

One of the main technical challenges in sending a probe on Venus is the searing temperatures on the planet's surface: 450°C, enough to melt lead! Several probes landed on Venus in the 1970s and early 1980s, but never lasted more than two hours....

• Publication date : 2008/05/13

Briefs: First MAC system using an ejector

Denso Corporation has developed the world's first passenger mobile air-conditioning system that uses ejector technology. The ejector, which is a small refrigerant injector, was installed on the new Prius introduced by Toyota in May 2009. According...

• Publication date : 2009/08/13

Hydrogen technology: Cryogenic Engine

A liquid oxygen-hydrogen pump fed engine achieved a major technical milestone in throttling capability. It is designed to demonstrate successful throttling from full power down to 10% of its thrust. This flexibility to control the flow of fuel...

• Publication date : 2007/11/20

Underground storage of liquid CO2

Dispensing of CO2 by storing it underground usually implies placing it in aquifer rocks deep enough (-800 m) to achieve sufficient pressure to maintain the CO2 in a supercritical (fluid) phase. This approach has many shortcomings as in this form,...

• Publication date : 2006/11/15

New cryogenic refrigerator to deep-freeze chips

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a compact, solid-state refrigerator capable of reaching very low temperatures (as low as 100 milliKelvin). The refrigerator works using a "sandwich" of normal-...

• Publication date : 2004/05/25

Regulations and use of HFCs in the USA

Under section 608 of the Clean Air Act, it has been illegal since November 15, 1995, to knowingly vent substitutes for CFC and HCFC refrigerants during the maintenance, service, repair and disposal of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment....

• Publication date : 2004/09/14

PCMs and ice slurries: PCMs: two recent applications

Phase-change materials (PCMs) can provide thermal storage which means that they can absorb thermal energy when they solidify and release it when they melt. This can be very useful to dampen temperature swings. PCMs are usually water-based and are...

• Publication date : 2007/02/12

R&D

The US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed a new air-conditioning system combining membranes, evaporative coolers and desiccants into a single device with the objective to suit to all climates,...

• Publication date : 2011/02/07

Data centre cooling

Data processing environments were estimated in 2006 to consume about 1.5% of the total electricity in the US. Data centre power consumption has roughly doubled in the last 5 years and is expected to double again in the next 5 years to more than...

• Publication date : 2009/02/25

Natural refrigerants: a key tool for the future

The IIR's interest in natural refrigerants is relatively longstanding and it is a real pleasure to be able to say that. Companies using refrigerants today are looking more and more to natural refrigerants and governments are finally really seeing...

• Publication date : 2005/10/26

2005 AHR Expo Innovation award winners

The winners of the third annual AHR (Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration) Expo Innovation awards will be honoured during a ceremony during the 2005 AHR Expo in Orlando, Florida, on February 8, 2005. The product entries were judged for...

• Publication date : 2004/12/22

Road to COP28. Achieving sustainable cold chains in low-to-middle-income countries

Successful implementation requires clear government strategy, financial support, close engagement with local communities and users, trainings for efficient use and maintenance, and...

• Publication date : 2023/06/27
• Subjects: Technology, Developing country

A Norwegian project: Snow for the future

An independent research organisation and a Norwegian university are developing a heat pump system to produce snow, even if the temperature are above freezing.

• Publication date : 2017/06/02

Research & Development: A cooling curtain made of a porous triple-layer membrane

A doctoral student at ETH Zurich's Functional Materials Laboratory has developed a cooling curtain made of a porous triple-layer membrane.

• Publication date : 2017/09/01

Heat from Scottish water could save € 300 million

Using heat pumps in the rivers and lochs of Scotland could save businesses in the country around € 300 million annually on bills.

• Publication date : 2014/05/15
• Subjects: Figures, economy

France: An ice rink on the roof of the Montparnasse Tower in Paris.

From 10 February to 5 March 2017, the Panoramic Observation deck of the Montparnasse Tower turns into an ice rink.

• Publication date : 2017/02/20

New NIST screening method for refrigerants

Researchers from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed a computational method to identify candidate low-GWP refrigerant fluids. The method identified 1234 promising low-GWP chemicals among 56 203 considered.

• Publication date : 2012/11/20

Solar-powered reefer in California

Tested over five months in California's San Joachin Valley, the first solar-powered transport refrigeration unit on a city delivery truck produced positive results.

• Publication date : 2018/05/07