Solstice® L40X: the perfect combination of performance and sustainability for new systems

After an impressive career, Claude Sabinot, owner of the installation firm CS Réfrigération Commerciale, brought his career to a fitting close with one final project: designing the refrigeration systems from start to finish for La Gourmandine, located in Frasnes-lez-Couvin, Belgium.

La Gourmandine is a local neighbourhood grocery shop, renowned for the quality of its fruit and vegetables as well as its charcuterie and mature cheeses. Every product is carefully selected to guarantee the highest possible quality. This applies not only to the retail customers who visit the shop, but also to their B2B clients, such as the HORECA* sector, which receives deliveries three times a week. To support their growth, the owners decided to move to a busier shopping street by refurbishing a former café that had been derelict for years. The new retail space was opened last January.

To achieve this, La Gourmandine called on Claude Sabinot, a trusted partner since their early days in Couvin, to assess and design future refrigeration systems. He agreed to take on this final challenge before his retirement.

R-455A stands out for its ease of installation

Whilst many professionals in the sector are now turning to R-744 (CO2 ), the refrigeration engineer considered this option to be too complex a solution. Why make things complicated when new, simple and high-performance systems are available on the market at a lower cost?

“With CO2, you end up with a large-scale installation and excessive energy consumption in medium temperature refrigeration, which cannot be the intended aim, even if the GWP is ideal. For me, R-455A offers the best compromise. Refrigeration units running on Solstice® L40X are much simpler in design, whilst fully showcasing the refrigeration engineer’s true craftsmanship.”

Several refrigeration units were installed

The first Copeland condensing unit, charged with 8.54 kg of R-455A, supplies
several pieces of equipment. In particular, it serves a 9.66 m refrigerated display
counter, divided into four zones with temperatures tailored to the products on
display (cheese, cold meats, salad bar, deli).

“Thanks to an optimised humidity level, fresh produce retains its freshness without drying out, eliminating the need to cover it with cling film after a day’s sales and, best of all, reducing stock wastage,” explains the refrigeration engineer.

The same unit also cools two cold rooms: one measuring 29 m³ for fruit and
vegetables, the other 8 m³ for cold cuts, as well as a vertical display cabinet for
fresh herbs and bagged salads. Added to this is a bespoke ‘cheese cellar’ display cabinet, a source of pride for Claude Sabinot. Designed entirely to the customer’s specifications, this unique piece was produced in collaboration with a Polish manufacturer.

On the right-hand side of the shop, a cold room dedicated to storing fruit and vegetables is cooled by a second Copeland unit containing 5.5 kg of R-455A. During the day, this cold room, maintained at +12 °C, is accessible to the public thanks to an air curtain that effectively retains the cold air. At night, the room is completely sealed off, and the cooling temperature drops to +8 °C.

A third Silensys refrigeration unit, with a charge of 2.4 kg of R-455A, cools the 6.5 m³ freezer compartment to -23 °C, which is used for storing ice cream, pastries and baked goods.

To meet La Gourmandine’s needs, a Liebherr propanepowered freezer unit has also been installed for ice cream and frozen foods.

And a door-type refrigerated cabinet, brought over from the old premises, has been retained for dairy products. Claude took the opportunity to retrofit it with a refrigerant with a lower GWP, R-513A.

A coating to extend the service life of the evaporators

“It is essential to take into account the type of product being cooled. As the natural acidity of fruit and vegetables has increased over the years, we opted for a protective coating on all the Kelvion evaporators installed, thereby extending their service life,” explains the installer.

The entire project was coordinated with the involvement of HEYTEC, a global supplier of refrigeration components in Belgium and distributor of Climalife solutions.

Significant energy savings

“Compared with the old La Gourmandine site, we have used 50 per cent less fluid whilst expanding the sales area, and electricity consumption has fallen by around 30 percent,” points out Claude Sabinot.

These significant savings are a direct result of the design choice. By opting for dedicated R-455A condensing units located close to where the cooling is required, it is possible to use smaller pipe diameters. This optimisation therefore reduces the environmental impact by effectively improving energy efficiency, which benefits everyone.

“Young refrigeration engineers have a bright future ahead of them with this A2L refrigerant. It enables the implementation of simple refrigeration systems that all refrigeration engineers can manage. This remains the cornerstone of our wonderful profession,” concludes Claude Sabinot.

Table of technical specifications for the new installations

*HORECA: Hotels, Restaurants and Cafés.