Area Cooling Solutions has been manufacturing and distributing products for the Refrigeration and HVAC sectors since 1986. The company is present in the entire European market. Their headquarters and the main distribution center are in Barcelona, and in the facilities in Poland. Area Cooling Solutions designs and produces their own-manufactured condensing units.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Area Cooling Solutions: Our mission is to provide the compressors, controls, and refrigeration units that professionals love.
We distribute the products for the whole HVAC/R sector. We target our own-manufactured units mainly for the commercial refrigeration sector. We’re a leading manufacturer of inverter condensing units for commercial applications, which we’ve been developing for over ten years. Currently, we’ve got more than 10 000 iCOOLTM inverter condensing units working worldwide.
The Area Cooling Solutions products are featured with decreased energy consumption, low-carbon footprint, easy installation and maintenance, and low-noise emissions. These features let us meet the expectations of the European market, which trends to energy efficiency and sustainability.
We provide cooling solutions for all kinds of refrigerants, including HFC, A2L types and natural refrigerants like Propane and CO2. Within the sustainability and the natural refrigerants trend, which we consider the future of commercial refrigeration, we manufacture our own range of iCOOLTM CO2 condensing units.
From our point of view, it’s all about safety and efficiency. Therefore, we focus on developing decentralized cooling systems. With the redundancy of the cooling circuits, we provide you with operational safety, better regulation, and additional cost savings.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
Area Cooling Solutions: Our latest developments are aligned with our vision to provide smart solutions for a green future. We mainly focus on energy efficiency, decentralization, and sustainability.
Recently we’ve introduced the new iCOOL-39D MHP and iCOOL-43D MHP inverter condensing units.
The members of the European refrigeration sector are currently struggling with the F-gas regulation 2022 requirements, limiting centralized units for commercial cooling applications. This restriction will mainly affect the food and the retail segment, which includes supermarket chains. We designed the units which meet these regulations without exceeding the 40kW limit.
Thanks to the inverter technology, we guarantee precise temperature control and smooth operation. Inverter solution also lays out a reduced quantity of the defrost cycles, which results in energy saving. Thanks to inverter technology, the units also feature a decreased quantity of start/ stop cycles, thereby extending their lifetime.
We’re also expanding our portfolio of iCOOL CO2 units. We believe that natural refrigerants are the future of refrigeration, and therefore we work hard towards developing sustainable products.
This past year, we introduced a unique solution to the market: the iCOOL 7 CO2 MT/LT. A low carbon footprint solution for all your commercial refrigeration applications. We developed a compact CO2 unit with an advanced oil management system. It’s suitable for multi-evaporator applications and extended pipe length for ease of installation. Thanks to our active PLC control, this transcritical CO2 unit is not just reliable but efficient. It’s an energy-efficient inverter condensing unit equipped with user-friendly features. Our goal is to make working with CO2 easy for you.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
Area Cooling Solutions: You will find in our offer the solutions for HFC, A2L, and natural refrigerants. We focus mainly on the commercial refrigeration sector, with the cooling capacity demand up to 40kW. It is aligned with trends forced by the upcoming F-gas regulation restrictions.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
Area Cooling Solutions: The HVAC/R market is constantly growing because the demand for cooling solutions increases in line with the economic growth in European countries. We target mainly the commercial refrigeration sector. With every expansion of each retail chain and every single grocery store opened, the need for a refrigeration unit is there as well.
Like in every market, we were concerned about the eventual impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our sector. Thankfully, it turned out that the demand for cooling solutions is now bigger than ever before, and we expect it to grow in the future.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
Area Cooling Solutions: The commercial refrigeration market is facing a transformation. The European Union regulations, considering the impact of the refrigeration systems on our environment, force the sector members to implement low Global Warming Potential technologies. What’s more, the recent rapid growth of energy cost and the Ecodesign Directive impacts the market trends towards better energy-efficiency.
Therefore, our sustainable and energy-saving iCOOL units are designed to meet these requirements and help our customers in an easy transition into the future standards of the sector.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
Area Cooling Solutions: Innovation is our first value. Therefore, the products which we’re currently developing meet this definition.
We focus on our innovative inverter technology solutions. With more than 10-years’ experience, we’ve developed systems that maximize energy efficiency and increase operational safety.
We’ve developed our own remote control management systems using our AREA Cloud. We provide remote parametrization and preventive maintenance features.
Our design goal is to make every single unit safe, energy-efficient, and user-friendly. Let’s have a look at some examples:
Recently marketed iCOOL-39D MHP and iCOOL-43D MHP inverter condensing units are equipped with a condenser cleaning function. The reverse rotation mode of the condenser fan provides the optimal airflow through the condenser and secures the unit’s performance between the planned maintenance inspections.
Our newest CO2 unit – iCOOL-7 CO2 MT/LT is featured with a unique pre-customized control with a built-in remote-control system. Its advanced oil management feature is based on a system that combines electronic level measurement and software management. The unit is equipped with an economizer kit which increases the efficiency and reliability of the unit.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2022?
Area Cooling Solutions: We expect to continue the current growth tendency. We’ve got the product which is in line with the current and estimated future market trends. The transformation of the commercial refrigeration market has already begun, and we believe that the ones who will be able to deliver sustainable, energy-efficient solutions will increase their role on the market.
It is crucial, especially today, facing 2022 in the light of rising energy prices and upcoming regulations.