Tag: energy

  • Future-Proof Your Refrigeration

    First published in Fresh Thinking June 2015 People ask me all the time if the EPA is ever going to get off their backs about the refrigerant they use. My answer is always the same: The only way that will happen is if the industry stops using refrigerants that harm the environment. For the first time…

  • Tips For Obtaining Utility Incentives

    First published in Accelerate America Magazine June 2015 Here’s some advice for supermarkets on how to go about seeking incentive funding from utilities for natural-refrigerant projects. Accelerate America: Do you expect that utilities  around the U.S. will provide incentives for various supermarket systems that employ natural refrigerants? Keilly Witman: Yes, we’’ll see this happen over the…

  • Centralize Refrigeration Management

    First published in Frozen & Refrigerated Buyer Magazine May 2015 Store level programs can hide huge dollar losses from refrigeration leaks. People often ask me to name the single most effective way to cut supermarket refrigeration leaks, based on my time heading up the EPA’s GreenChill Partnership. My response usually surprises them: Your first priority…

  • Time to Overhaul 608

    First published in Frozen & Refrigerated Buyer Magazine April 2015 Special interests want to expand Section 608 refrigerant leak regula­tions. But what it needs is a major overhaul. The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy, a Washington, D.C., special interest group, petitioned the EPA last year to expand Section 608 refrigerant leak repair regulations to include…

  • Clearing the Cost Hurdle (part 2)

    First published in Accelerate America Magazine April 2015 On January 8th of this year in Berkeley, CA, Hillphoenix, Emerson Climate Technologies, and AHT Cooling Systems USA brought together supermarket refrigeration executives and representatives from the nation’s major utilities to discuss ways that utilities could help boost demand for energy-efficient natural refrigerant equipment. After discussing energy…

  • Clearing the Cost Hurdle (part 1)

    First published in Accelerate America Magazine March 2015  Those who look to natural refrigerants as the ultimate solution to the cycle of never-ending refrigerant phaseouts have been discussing for several years the hurdles that need to be overcome to accelerate their adoption in the U.S. Above all, the biggest hurdle is cost. As is usual…

  • The Final Word on R-22

    First published in Frozen & Refrigerated Buyer Magazine November 2015 EPA’s determination means a lot less virgin refrigerant will be available. But nobody knows how much R-22 has been stockpiled, or what will happen to pricing. A few weeks ago, the EPA issued its final determi­nation on the amount of virgin R-22 allowed to be…

  • What Is Your Used R-22 Worth?

    First published in Frozen & Refrigerated Buyer Magazine October 2014 About five years ago at the FMI Energy Conference, I gave a plenary presenta­tion on the EPA’s R-22 phaseout. I posed a question to the audience: Why were supermar­kets paying people to come and haul away their used R-22? I commented, admittedly somewhat facetiously, that…