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R22 Replacement Deadline

The use of virgin R22 gas is already prohibited and the use of recycled and/or reclaimed gas will be prohibited after 31st Dec 2014. Best options for its replacement depend on a number of factors including the age and state of your equipment.

R22 Replacement Options

If your equipment isn’t too old and has been well maintained, you could look at decanting the R22 from your existing system , then converting  the system to make it compatible with a replacement refrigerant. While this offers businesses a reduced capital outlay compared to full replacement, the downside could be that no replacement refrigerants offer an exact match to the thermal properties of R22 which could result in reduced capacity and/or efficiency.

The second option is to replace your R22 equipment with a new system which is compatible with modern refrigerants. Obvious benefits  include a significant reduction in energy consumption from the use of modern equipment as well as reduced maintenance costs and an increased service life over a refrigerant conversion, protecting you from increased breakdowns and potential impact on product quality or stock loss.

While this option means a larger initial capital outlay, this can be offset by the benefits.

Cost-effective & Energy Efficient

As well as complying with the legal requirements of the legislation, replacing tired and inefficient equipment can have a major benefit on your bottom line – some of our recent installations have had a payback period of less than 2 years based on the energy savings received; some customers have saved up to 25% off their energy bills.

Also for some of our customers in the UK, we have been able to help secure substantial grant funding for the replacement and renewal of outdated plant.

Gate Gourmet

The world’s largest independent provider of catering and provisioning services for airlines and railroads  future-proofed their Glasgow production facility as soon as the new legislation was announced. Already their service and maintenance contractor, ACE Refrigeration retrofitted their 21 refrigeration systems  from R22 to  using readily available and less expensive R417A & R422A Gases.

Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa

The Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa in Edinburgh is the UK’s Flagship Sheraton Hotel and part of the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Group.  We needed to replace 25 year old plant running on soon to be defunct R22 gas in a live kitchen whilst  also designing enough capacity for future expansion plans .  Our indemnified design allowed us to replace the refrigeration systems  and design & build the refrigeration in the new banqueting kitchen with an energy saving design and  management control systems at its core. ACE also  designed and incorporated a heat exchange facility to give FREE hot water!

Marine Harvest

In 2012 we replaced the R22 air conditioning in the gutting hall of Marine Harvest’s Fort William plant.

Turnover has soared at Marine Harvest thanks to the growing popularity of Scottish Salmon around the world.

In order to safeguard vital production facilities in the West Coast of Scotland, we were also awarded a  contract to maintain and service their crucial refrigeration, air conditioning and Geneglace ice plant.

Northern Ireland Fishery Authority

At the beginning of 2013, we installed a new 10 tonne Geneglace ice generator at Ardglass Harbour in County Down for the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority. The previous flake ice plant had become inefficient and also relied on R22 Gas. ACE Refrigeration, the only manufacturer trained Geneglace engineers in the UK,  installed the new ice flaker while the harbour and adjacent quay remained in use.

ACE  Expertise

ACE Refrigeration has proven experience in replacing R22 plant for customers in the food processing and hospitality industries. Established in 1951, our knowledge, breadth of experience and professional indemnity set us apart from others and enable us to have a flexible approach to projects and working partnerships. We are manufacturer independent so are able to offer customers solutions which best meet their needs.