Jan 22, 2025

On 28th June at 9.30am, the doors opened for the inaugural ‘Colloquium on Energy-Efficient Refrigeration Systems for Supermarkets & Shopping Centres’ conference at the Maritim Hotel, Darmstadt, Germany. The one-day event hosted by Eurovent Certita Certification and COOLPLAN, welcomed a number of top quality speakers including Gerhard Neuhauser, Managing Director, LU-VE Germany GmbH. Gerhard’s informative presentation entitled ‘Non-certified products = higher energy consumption and damage to our environment,’ was well received by the audience of operators, planners and decision makers in supermarket and retail refrigeration systems. In this interview we get to talk to Gerhard about his experience of the event.

Can you give us a brief overview of your presentation? 
Gerhard: My presentation highlights the most important aspects that stakeholders and decision makers need to consider when choosing equipment. The presentation also covers the key benefits of being able to directly compare products, and the data consultants should be looking out for. We live in a world where we are surrounded by information, but with some information more valuable than others, and it is confusing to know what to compare. 

Readers of this interview will be able to download ‘Non-certified products = higher energy consumption and damage to our environment,’ at the end of this article. What were the key takeaways from the presentation and why should they hit the download button?
Gerhard: The presentation shows what is important and why. To demonstrate this in real life, the presentation also includes several key scenarios, which show what the difference is between certified and non-certified products. 

Moving onto the event itself, what did you think were the key takeaways from the Colloquium?
Gerhard: This is the first time that the two symposiums of VKDF and Eurovent Certita Certification/COOLPAN have been combined, and it was a very good decision. While the Eurovent Certita Certification event had around half the audience of the VKDF event, it was full of key audience members, just the people we wanted to talk to. The atmosphere across the two days was different also, with the audience participating far more in discussion at the Eurovent Certita Certification event. 

What did you think about the format of the event?
Gerhard: The first introduction was really good and the case studies were the highlight for me, especially in regard to demonstrating to the audience the differences between power consumption and life cycle of certified and non-certified products. 

Why did you decide to speak at the event?
Gerhard: The ‘Colloquium on Energy-Efficient Refrigeration Systems for Supermarkets & Shopping Centres’ conference offered the right audience for LU-VE Germany GmbH. We are a global technology leader in CO2, so for us it offered a platform to share information with an audience of consultants and decision makers. The event also offered that international association as it was run by Eurovent Certita Certification.

Why are these events important?
Gerhard: For LU-VE Germany GmbH and other component manufacturers, it can be hard to get an audience with end users, consultants and decision makers, we are not in the first row at the movie. Decision makers have their suppliers, their front row contacts, usually HVAC&R companies. Component manufacturers are in the second row. 

When it comes to communication, we have a two-tiered approach. Obviously we need to build relationships with the contractors who specify, install and maintain our products. However, we must also talk to end users. This event gave the opportunity to present to and debate with operators, planners and decision makers in supermarket and retail refrigeration systems. These are people we do not usually get to talk to, and are those who we do not communicate with enough.

Anything else you wish to add?
Gerhard: For me this event was perfectly organised. The presentation time slots gave enough time to get the information we required across. In a future symposium I would like to see more presentations on the certification process, and it would be a pleasure to present on our experience of certifying products. I think it is very important that we work together to market the process, so that decision makers understand the true value of certification. 

Thank you Gerhard for your time today and for such an excellent presentation at the Colloquium on Energy-Efficient Refrigeration Systems for Supermarkets & Shopping Centres.
Gerhard: My pleasure.

Presentation download

Did you miss the Colloquium or want to know more? Gerhard’s presentation, ‘Non-certified products = higher energy consumption and damage to our environment,’ covered a range of topics including:

• Introduction to EUROVENT certification
• LU-VE Group: Certified since 2000
• Why choose a certified product?
• Case studies
• Conclusions.

You can download the presentation for free by hitting the button below.