Global American Retailer utilises Econex Pro
In September 2022, a large American retailer opened its first New Zealand wholesale warehouse at Westgate in West Auckland. The store takes up the size of two rugby fields, at 14,740 square metres.
Nu-Tech Group, the NZ and Australia partner for the retailer on mechanical engineering, chose Temperzone Econex Pro OPA units as the air conditioning systems for this facility. Temperzone’s Econex R32 Inverter rooftop package units are an energy-efficient lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) solution that also enables a level of humidity control in the retail space.
The large warehouse and several smaller spaces are serviced by four 145kW OPA 1410s, five 91kW OPA 970s and a single 17kW OPA 171.
Temperzone’s Econex Pro systems were a great match when meeting the Environmental Policy and Climate Action Plan requirements for the global retailer, which is committed to running its facilities in an energy-efficient and environmentally responsible manner, reducing its carbon footprint.
The client recognises that hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and other gases in its refrigeration systems significantly impact our climate. They carefully select refrigerants that are low in Global Warming Potential (GWP) and reduce CO2e emissions.
Selecting R32 refrigerant with a GWP of 675* as opposed to the R410a refrigerant alternative with a GWP of 2088*, enabled an overall reduction in CO2e emissions. The Econex Pro R32 refrigerant units, compared to the R410a refrigerant alternative, enabled a 79% reduction in refrigerant related GWP across the site, from a total of 697 tonnes of CO2e emissions reduced down to 145 tonnes of CO2e emissions.
Most of the energy used in their Australian warehouses comes from HVAC, lighting, food preparation and heating water. To achieve its carbon reduction goals and reduce its emissions the global retailer is committed to reducing its energy usage in its warehouses.
Econex Pro R32 systems offered superior energy efficiency. Utilising independent inverter compressor refrigeration circuits and advanced control logic enables OPA Econex Pro to continuously adjust its operation across the spectrum of space heating, cooling and dehumidification requirements while maintaining optimum efficiency.
The Econex Pro range features high seasonal energy efficiency ratios, the unit increases substantially in energy efficiency (EER) while it operates in part load when the demand for cooling and heating reduces outside peak seasons.
The Econex Pro OPA 970 achieves a Total Cooling Seasonal Performance Factor (TCSPF) of 4.53 compared to only 3.36 achieved by the previous non-inverter model. This results in a 27% decrease in this unit's annual cooling energy consumption. Using the Econex Pro variable capacity technology across the entire site culminates significant savings in annual HVAC energy consumption.
Econex Pro features a pre-programmed advanced control logic that ensures the most effective and efficient operation out of the box with intuitive self-adjusting comfort modes.
While traditional systems only provide basic heating and cooling control which does not address apparent comfort levels within the space and is ineffective in minimising energy use, Econex Pro considers indoor and outdoor humidity levels and makes its own decisions by operating across seven different modes to satisfy setpoint conditions.
These seven modes of comfort, designed around the dewpoint levels across a psychrometric chart are tailored to target precise comfort needs by effectively removing moisture or temperature within the comfort level limit.
This control function is perfect for wholesalers, as maintaining accurate and consistent humidity and temperature levels is crucial to maximising consumer comfort and product shelf life.
*AR4 Standard