Danfoss has named Pro Refrigeration, Inc., as its 13th EnVisioneer of the Year. The Washington-based manufacturer and supplier of chillers for the industrial and beverage processing market, and a longtime customer of Danfoss, used Danfoss components to develop its PROGreen CO2 Chiller system that brought big dividends to a California dairy farm and ultimately, to the environment.

Launched in 2010, the annual EnVisioneer of the Year award competition recognizes North American original equipment manufacturers, building owners, municipalities, contractors and end users that have introduced a new product, opened a new facility, or invested in a building or system upgrade in the past 18 months using Danfoss products or solutions to realize significant energy and environmental savings.

With the approaching HFC phasedown, the demand for environmentally friendly cooling systems is driving chiller manufacturers to innovate. Since CO2 is a natural refrigerant with a GWP rating of 1, not only does it have zero impact on global warming, but it also allows refrigeration systems to recover 100% - three times that of chillers using synthetic refrigerants - of the heat rejected from their systems, generating hot water at up to 200 degrees. For Pro Refrigeration, heat recovery capability is an essential product feature, as beverage plants, and dairy farms, in particular, use a high amount of natural gas or propane to heat water for sanitizing and wash-down. Heat recovery technology lowers both their costs and climate impact.

The Danfoss components utilized in the PROGreen CO2 Chiller include the AK-SM850A system manager, AK-CC 750A case controller, AK-PC781A pack controller, as well as the CCM 20 and CCMT 30 electric regulating valves, BC 5100 pressure switches, pressure and temperature sensors, and other accessories such as AK-PS 250 power supply and GDC gas detector. All parts work together to monitor the cooling system, gather data from the sensors, control when the compressors cycle on and off, and ensure the fans and expansion valves are working correctly.

The award was presented to Pro Refrigeration on August 24 at its Mocksville, North Carolina facility. https://www.danfoss.com/en-us/