Every year, millions of flower bouquets journey thousands of miles, from greenhouses and fields in places like Colombia, Kenya and the Netherlands, to customers across Europe and North America. In this global market, valued at around €15 billion ($16.9 billion) in 2015, freshness is key. Flowers must arrive vibrant, fragrant and undamaged to maintain both their aesthetic appeal and commercial value.
Central to ensuring this freshness is an unbroken cold chain. Cut flowers need to be stored and transported at between 1–4°C (33.8–39.2°F) to ensure they stay in peak condition from harvest to delivery. The cold chain that enables the global flower trade is energy-intensive and largely relies on fossil fuel-based power and high-GWP synthetic refrigerants.
Determined to challenge this status quo, Ireland’s Keelings Flowers, a division of the Keelings Group, turned to Lithuanian HVAC&R manufacturer Refra for a more sustainable solution. At its new flower processing facility in Dublin, Keelings installed a propane (R290)-based chiller and heat pump that balances operational flexibility with a strong environmental performance.
Ireland in bloom
Keelings Flowers was founded in 1995 in Dublin’s iconic City Flower Market and has grown into one of Ireland’s largest producers and distributors of floral products. Today, the company supplies around 5 million bouquets annually, as well as a range of potted plants, to the Irish market.
In 2023, Keelings unveiled its latest investment: a €20 million ($22.7 million) 8,500m2 (91,500ft2) flower processing facility located at its business campus in St. Margaret’s, Dublin. Designed from the ground up for efficiency and scale, the facility is the first of its kind on the island of Ireland dedicated solely to processing cut flowers.
Keelings Flowers represents roughly 7% of total Keelings Group sales, and with the opening of its new flower processing plant, the company aims to double its operations by 2030.
“The aim of our flower business is to bring joy,” said Caroline Keeling, former CEO of Keelings, in 2023. “This fantastic facility enables us to deliver fresher, brighter and longer-lasting flowers and plants to the people of Ireland.”
Supporting seasonal demand
At the facility, Keelings receives and processes cut flowers and plants from both domestic and international growers. To meet the diverse requirements of its products, the facility contains three temperature-controlled zones:
❄ 16°C (60.8°F)
This is the primary working area where flowers are unloaded, sorted, trimmed and arranged into bouquets. The temperature strikes a balance between product preservation and worker comfort.
❄❄ 8°C (46.4°F)
A cooler space for storing potted plants, helping reduce respiration and disease without risking cold damage.
❄❄❄ 4°C (39.2°F)
Reserved for high-value cut flowers awaiting further processing or shipment.
Due to fluctuating seasonal demand – volumes can surge up to 20 times the average in peak periods like Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Easter – Keelings Flowers designed the facility for maximum flexibility in both temperature and space, allowing for dynamic processing applications throughout the year.
To meet these rapidly shifting demands, Keelings also needed a highly flexible refrigeration system that could reliably maintain temperatures between 2 and 22°C (35.6–71.6°F) and adapt to varying load conditions without additional equipment.
A sustainable investment
Sustainability was a core design priority for the new facility. The Keelings Group has plans to reduce its operational emissions by 50% by 2030. For Keelings Flowers, that meant avoiding high-GWP f-gases and maximizing system efficiency through heat recovery. Keelings Flowers was willing to invest in a long-term solution, according to Andrew Dunwoody, Technical Manager at Anglo Irish Refrigeration, the contractor responsible for the installation.
“Keelings wanted a natural refrigerant, so they chose R290 for the refrigeration system and the heat pump,” said Dunwoody. “The initial cost was 40% higher than an f-gas [refrigeration] solution, but the benefit is having the heating and cooling in one system. If you factor in [the cost of a conventional heating system], there probably was not a lot of difference in costs.”
To meet Keelings Flowers varying HVAC&R requirements, MBA Consulting Engineers designed an integrated system consisting of two key units from Refra:
- A Galaxy R290 chiller
- A reversible Ignis R290 heat pump
Together, they provide the facility with process cooling, comfort cooling and space heating. Domestic hot water is supplied by a separate f-gas-based heat pump due to the distance between hot water demand points and the main plant equipment.
Part two of this story will dive into the R290 chiller and heat pump system, the specifications of which are detailed below. Another version of this article can be found here.
“Keelings wanted a natural refrigerant, so they chose R290 for the refrigeration system and the heat pump.”
Andrew Dunwoody, Technical Manager at Anglo Irish Refrigeration
System specs
Propane-based chiller and heat pump system for process cooling at Keelings Flowers’ flower processing facility in Dublin.
Manufacturer: Refra
Model: Galaxy R290 chiller and Ignis R290 heat pump
Heat source: Air-source and heat recovery (refrigeration)
Total cooling capacity: 482kW (137TR)
Total heating capacity: 120kW (34TR)
R290 charge: 13kg
Minimum supply temperature: −5°C (23°F)
Maximum supply temperature: 30°C (86°F)
Glycol distribution loop
RDM controls
Danfoss expansion valves
