“Change is the only constant in life.” Somewhere along the line, most of us have heard that saying. After all, it’s been around a long time — a matter of fact, most people would never guess that the author was a Greek pioneer of wisdom named Heraclitus who lived around 500 BC in the days before Plato and Aristotle. It’s hard to argue that the statement is anything but an unequivocal truism. We face changes every day of our lives. The impact of those changes on each of us can run the gamut from negligible to life-altering. Ignoring the inevitable is one choice we simply don’t have. Heraclitus’ intent was to highlight the need for all of us to plan for and be ready for a change in every aspect of our lives and business. Unfortunately, the reality is that while many people know how to live for today, and some know-how to plan for tomorrow, most lack the insight that there will be a day after tomorrow — one that requires sustainability of their plans over the long term.

Businesses that rely on refrigeration for their existence in any way are certainly front and center when it comes to this fact of life. Advances in refrigeration technology have driven a multitude of beneficial changes; more effective and easier ways of doing things, lower costs, greater efficiencies, and the list goes on. Unfortunately, not all such agents of change have been so kind to the industry. Some, notably halogenated synthetic refrigerants (Freon), such as CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) and HCFCs (Hydrochlorofluorocarbons), although effective, inherently stable and nonflammable, have proven to be both a significant source of global warming as well as agents that deplete the ozone layer protecting the earth and those on it from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.

As a result, both environmental legislation and governmental regulatory actions have mandated the phase-out of these categories of refrigerants. Since the usage of such synthetic refrigerants was somewhat ubiquitous, these actions caused a veritable mountain of required change with users ranging from auto and home air conditioning to commercial food operations and industrial applications of all sizes. With the associated cost and disruption to operations that making these refrigerant change-outs has wrought, many began asking the question, “With things continuing to change within the industry, just how can we feel confident that a decision we make today will still be good tomorrow (and the day after tomorrow) and insulate us from having to repeat these costly actions again in the future?” The answer to that question lies with finding a “future-proof” solution that cannot be mandated or regulated out of existence — and that answer is the usage of “natural” refrigerants.

The most common natural refrigerants include hydrocarbons (HCs), Isobutane, Propane, Ammonia, and C0₂. Of these alternatives, CO₂ is leading the charge. Proponents are quick to point out the following facts and benefits of going with CO₂:

• Long-term refrigerant — never have to change it out — not subject to regulatory mandates or bans.

• Natural refrigerant — unlike other harmful refrigerants, they are not synthetic chemicals and can mostly be found in nature.

• Essentially non-existent global warming and ozone depletion potentials (GWP = 1, ODP = 0)

• Can legally vent it to the atmosphere.Very energy-efficient.

• Cheaper to install — smaller copper lines — the cost of materials involved is lower.

For the past several decades, the usage of CO₂ refrigeration systems has been constrained by technological limitations. However, process and material advances have relegated these issues to a thing of the past with today’s systems showing improved performance, lower cost, and better efficiency than their synthetic counterparts.

Hillphoenix has played a key role in this rise in popularity with its industry-leading development of CO₂ refrigeration technology and products. Among these products, the Hillphoenix Advansor CO₂ transcritical booster system is playing a major role in advancing the usage of CO₂ applications.

“Besides meeting our stated priority of being environmentally friendly, it gave us the assurance that we would not have to go through any costly refrigerant changeout in the future — a peace-of-mind for our business going forward that meant a great deal to us,” stated one such Hillphoenix CO₂ system user, Abraham Philip, Midwest regional manager for House of Spices (India) Inc.

For more information on how you can “future-proof” your operation and sleep well at night with a sustainable plan that’s good for today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, contact Hillphoenix or call a Hillphoenix Sales representative today.