Gas Sensing Solutions Targets Growing CO2 Refrigerant Market with Range of Low Power, High Sensitivity CO2 Sensors

Gas Sensing Solutions (GSS), a developer of carbon dioxide sensor technology, has announced that it is targeting the growing market of CO₂ refrigeration systems with its award-winning CO₂ sensors.

A century ago, CO₂ was commonly used as a refrigerant, but had practically disappeared by the 1950s with the use of other gases such as HVFC, CFC and HFC. The air conditioning and refrigeration industry has now been urged to move to more "natural" refrigerants like CO₂, with the onset of huge price increases for Source: Gas Sensing Solutionstraditional HFCs.

The reduction of harmful greenhouse gases is also a key consideration, as these traditional gases contribute up to four thousand times more than CO₂ to global warming.

Dr. David Moodie, Technical Manager at GSS, said, "CO₂-based water chillers, chest freezers, beverage coolers and heat pumps are increasingly being developed and commercialized, making this a very exciting new market for us as providers of innovative CO₂ sensors. For example, CO₂-based refrigeration systems are in use in a large number of Swedish supermarkets, with other countries following this trend towards a highly green refrigeration solution."

It is important to have CO₂ sensors in this application to monitor for potential leaks. CO₂ exists in the atmosphere, and background (normal) outdoor air levels are around 250 to 350 ppm. The gas is harmless to humans, except when concentrations are four to five times greater than normal. For example, at 2000 to 5000 ppm, health problems such as headaches, loss of attention and slight nausea may be experienced. As CO₂ gas is odorless and colorless, leaks could easily go unnoticed. A speedy warning of increased CO₂ levels is therefore vital in ensuring people's safety in CO₂ refrigeration applications.

GSS has a range of standard CO₂ sensors for refrigeration applications. The ExplorIR-W is a particularly robust design, built with mid-infrared LED technology at its core. It's this solid-state technology that enables the earliest warning of any possible CO₂ leaks. This also provides the required long lifetime and high precision needed in leak detection applications.

Available with an extended temperature range, the ExplorIR-W can operate right down to -25º C as required in many supermarket freezers. It is available in measurement ranges of 0 to 5%, 0 to 20% and 0 to 100% CO₂ concentrations according to the specific application. The sensor can be adapted for special requirements, or developed into a custom CO₂ sensor solution for leak detection applications.