Should you Always Blame High Temperatures for Poor Performance?

"High ambient temperatures are causing the problem." It's a conclusion we hear regularly. But in refrigeration, high ambient means different things to different systems. A CO₂ transcritical system designed for the UK climate shouldn't be judged by general opinion or compared with a completely different installation. 

Before blaming the weather - or the refrigerant - it's worth understanding how the system is actually performing.

Questions we ask include:

• What ambient conditions was the system designed for?
• Is the gas cooler performing as intended?
• Are fans, controls and operating pressures correct?
• Is the system operating within its design envelope?

We recently investigated a site where the assumption was that warmer weather had exposed the limitations of the refrigeration system. The reality was different.

The system's performance was being affected by a GAS COOLER that wasn't rejecting heat effectively. Once we identified the root cause, it was clear that the issue wasn't the ambient temperature or the CO₂ system itself.

Good engineers ask the right questions and at ODA we believe engineering decisions should be based on evidence, not assumptions. The weather might be the first thing people notice - but it's rarely the first thing we blame.

Every refrigeration system will experience changing operating conditions throughout the year. The key is understanding whether it's performing as it was designed to.