TORAD’s patented spool compressor has achieved breakthrough performance of 72.5% peak overall isentropic efficiency running on Solstice ZE (R-1234ze), a zero-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant.
The 20 TonR compressor was tested at the ARI standard condition of 45°F/130°F, achieving an Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) of 12.2 and a Coefficient Performance (COP) of 3.58.
TORAD president & COO, Joe Orosz, said this achievement creates a viable path to commercial HVAC adoption of environmentally sustainable zero-GWP systems without the cost typically associated with next-generation refrigerants.
"The company's spool compressor technology enables advanced chiller designs improving system efficiency and addressing the current industry trade-off between cost and environmental impact,” he said.
TORAD CEO & founder, Greg Kemp, said the successful combination of the spool compressor and Solstice ZE creates a cost-effective path to meet challenging global regulatory demands for sustainable cooling solutions and dramatically lowering Greenhouse gas emissions.
"We would like to thank Johnson Controls International, Solstice, Shrieve, Syensqo, GGB, CLAYENS and Force Technology for their valuable engineering support in this achievement," Kemp said.
"We look forward to working with industry partners to bring this technology into commercial production and accelerate the global transition to sustainable cooling solutions."
TORAD Inc. is an Atlanta-based leader in the development of innovative, high-efficiency compressor technologies for the HVAC and refrigeration industries.