WAVE Shares Refrigeration Expertise at Allianz Engineering Inspection Services Conference 2026
5th August 2026
A big thank you to Allianz for inviting WAVE to speak at their
“Allianz Engineering Inspection Services Conference 2026”.
It was a great opportunity to talk to a room of 82 Pressure System Inspectors and share share practical insight on refrigeration systems, refrigerants and safe system design.
The session was delivered by Denis McCrohan, Senior Technical Consultant at Wave EOT, bringing practical refrigeration engineering experience and a focus on safe, compliant, and robust design.
The 40-minute presentation plus Q&A, covered the areas we are often asked about when looking at new or existing refrigeration plant.
We talked through refrigerant options, how different refrigerants behave in real applications, and how those choices influence operating pressure, discharge temperature, component selection, pipework, safety controls, and energy performance.
The presentation highlighted how the engineering configuration can make a real difference to the way a system performs.
Configurations included direct expansion, pumped circulation, cascade and transcritical arrangements, along with the practical benefits and trade-offs around efficiency, resilience, maintenance access, compliance and whole-life cost. High pressure CO2 was a key part of the discussion as well, particularly where it is best suited, why it is being specified more often, and what needs careful consideration around pressure ratings, standstill pressure, relief strategy, and plantroom ventilation.
Future design was another key area to explore.
With lower GWP refrigerants, changing compliance requirements and long-term serviceability all influencing design decisions, it is important to think beyond the initial installation. Pressure relief vent lines considerations for CO2 systems were presented, including routing, termination points, back pressure, discharge location, weather protection and making sure the relief arrangement is suitable for the refrigerant, system volume, and maximum credible operating conditions.
We finished by talking through commissioning and what a good process should look like, from pre-commissioning checks through pressure testing, evacuation, charging, control validation and functional testing. This also covered the importance of proving safety-critical controls properly, including high pressure trip testing, set point verification, reset behaviour, control interlocks and clear records to support handover, inspection, and ongoing maintenance.
It was a pleasure to be part of the conversation and to share experience with such a knowledgeable audience.
Thank you again to Allianz for the invitation, and to everyone who joined in with the questions and discussion.
