Pioneer project Migros ZUrich Kreuz-platz temporary store

On a sales area of approx. 400 sqm, customers can expect a high product variety. Round about 40 meters of medium and low temperature cabinets cover every customer’s needs. The waste heat, produced by food and beverage refrigeration, is used for heating. The heat is being distributed through fan coil units, as needed, to the different areas in the building. The new method, distributing the heat through a CO₂ circulation is promising and cost-saving, as the amount of components can be reduced to a minimum and heat or cold can be dispensed efficiently to several areas. The same fan coil units can be used for heating and AC.

As with conventional installations, waste heat is being disposed through a gas cooler. Should waste heat from refrigeration not be enough, there is the possibility to feed the building with additional heat through one or several heat pump compressors of the very same unit.
 
As this temporary store will be used for two years and, afterwards, will be taken down again, the complete eCO2cube has been built in a transportable enclosure. The gas cooler is attached directly to the enclosure. This allows to store the installation temporarily and to install it again on a new site. The compact construction has another advantage: there is no necessity of an additional compressor room. Thanks to an optimised sound insulation, the installation can be run on the roof in the middle of the city of Zurich.

eCO2cube – the future’s concept

The installation is based on a conventional CO₂
booster, which is used to chill food and beverages. In order to accomplish a comfortable climate in the building, there is the possibility for AC and heating by means of heat recovery. Should waste-heat from the MT and LT-refrigeration not match the demand in wintertime, additional heat can be gained from the outside-air by means of an evaporator, integrated in the gascooler. The manner in which heat and cold are being distributed in to the building depends on the customer’s preference: through a water-grid, through air or straight with the CO₂ of the refrigeration unit via the fan coil units placed in the building. Even a combination of all three possibilities is feasible. The advantages of the heating or AC via the fan coil units are low investment costs and very little heat- or cold-waste.

Regardless of the heat and cold distribution options, there are variable layout possibilities of the installation itself. If conventionally in a compressor room or compactly packed in a weather proof enclosure, both options are viable. Thanks to the sound-proof insulation of the unit-enclosure, no noise can be heard even at full load operation. If needed, the gas cooler can be attached to the enclosure and become one single element, which makes the concept even more compact and flexible.

The Role of Frigo-Consulting

The concept and the detailed engineering for this unique system, including the on-site supervision during installation and the commissioning was done by Frigo-Consulting. The custom made control-system was implemented by the CAREL company and the installations-works by the CELSIO company.
 
Frigo-Consulting offers innovative refrigeration and energy engineering such as:

• Engineering and linking together of HVAC/R-systems
• Engineering, coordination and realisation of sustainable refrigeration installations and heat pumps
• Innovations for primary energy savings
• Application fields: medium (MT) and low (LT) temperature refrigeration, AC and heating
• Maintenance support
• Training and Audits