Danfoss Opens First Application Development Test Chamber

Danfoss has opened the first test chamber of its new Engineering Tomorrow Application Development Center in Tallahassee, Fla. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to inaugurate the chamber, which can accommodate air-conditioning systems up to 12.5 tons.

A laboratory for testing HVACR equipment, Danfoss’ customer Application Development Center will, in total, feature three sets of psychrometric rooms capable of testing air-conditioning systems, including residential equipment and rooftop units from 2.5 to 50 tons and air-cooled chillers up to 150 tons.  

“With a broad portfolio of components to help chiller and rooftop manufacturers achieve energy efficiency, Danfoss technologies plays a role in improving how buildings consume energy and impact the world around them,” remarks Jurgen Fischer, president, Danfoss Cooling Solutions. “Danfoss has a long history, more than 80 years, of innovation, and we remain committed to working with our customers to push the boundaries of innovation and energy-efficiency and climate-friendly solutions. This laboratory joins a family of Application Development Centers around the world that are actively working to advance our research and development initiatives and help our customers engineer tomorrow.”

“One of the drivers behind the investment in this Application Development Center is the increasing federal regulations and testing requirements impacting the HVACR industry, including energy-efficiency standards from U.S. Department of Energy and new targets for low-GWP refrigerants from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” says John Galyen, president, Danfoss North America. “This Application Development Center will allow us to help our industry prepare for the transition ahead by providing needed lab capacity to ensure compliance.”

Stefan Pietrek, senior director of global applications, Danfoss, explains, “The Application Development Center is set up to support testing specifically for the North American air-conditioning segment, comprising rooftop units and chillers in climatic controlled chambers. The test chamber we opened today is designed to test residential air-conditioning and light-commercial equipment of 2.5 to 12.5 TR. We are using the Danfoss portfolio of products to offer a complete solution to our customers — including controls, compressors, line components, heat exchangers, and frequency converters. This makes the Application Development Center a home for complete innovative solutions.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony also included a facility tour hosted by Danfoss’ Alice Riemer, director, global laboratories; and Gregory Handzel, manager of the Application Development Center.

The Center’s other two test chambers, one for up to 50-ton and another for up to 150-ton systems, will open in the coming months. The Application Development Center is expected to be fully operational in early 2017.