2.4 Digitalization

Digitalization of the commercial and industrial refrigeration industry has been moving forward at warp speed for the last few years, a trend that is expected to continue unabated, as the Internet of Things (IoT), automation and artificial intelligence (AI) open up new avenues for digital controls.43

Several factors – such as rising energy costs, ongoing technician shortages and aging compressor racks – are driving the adoption of a growing array of digitized control and sensor devices that monitor every aspect of HVAC&R systems. The energy savings enabled by advanced monitoring systems will be critical to helping a company’s bottom line, as well as an important element of reaching 2030 climate goals. Controls also help curb leaks of climate-polluting HFC refrigerants in a legacy system.

AI-based software can automatically detect outlier systems so that a technician can change faulty components, either remotely or in person. A third-party company specializing in digitalization of commercial refrigeration is Oakland, California-based Axiom Cloud. At a grocery store in Southern California, Axiom’s “Virtual Technician,” an artificial intelligence-based app, was able to catch the beginning of a liquid flooding event in the suction header of a medium-temperature rack – which could have severely damaged the compressors if allowed to progress.45

Synergy with natural refrigerants

Natural refrigerant systems like transcritical CO2 depend on robust control systems at the rack and case level to support efficient operation, particularly in warm climate zones. This is a key part of reducing their operating costs and achieving a good ROI. Moreover, forward-thinking retailers will see the synergy between modern control systems and natural refrigerant systems as part of a green refrigeration strategy.