REFRIGERANTS A clear path forward
We greet the new decade in Europe with the banning of a refrigerant that has been the mainstay of commercial refrigeration since CFCs were phased out in the early 1990s. Mark Hughes of Chemours looks at the impact on R404A systems.
T
he F-Gas regulations bans the use of R404A (and its sister R507) in refrigeration for new install or service of existing systems where
the charge is greater than 40 tonnes CO2 equivalent – 10.2kg for R404A from 01 January 2020. Other
than the well-known phasedown in CO2 equivalent quota, this is by far the biggest impact to be felt by those using these high global warming potential (GWP) products to date. This brings into sharp focus the question of what to do with both existing systems running high GWP refrigerants and more critically, what to use for new install. In the case of existing systems where there is still life in the equipment the ban can be managed by retrofitting the R404A to one of the mid GWP blends such as R449A. The advantage of this is that the R404A recovered can either be recycled and kept for use by the end user or sent back for reclaim by one of the refrigerant distributors. R404A reclaimed in this way can be used until 2030 while stocks allow.
Not all existing equipment is in a condition to retrofit, it may be old, of poor design, expensive to maintain and have high leak rates. In addition, end users must consider that retrofit is only an interim measure, as the further cuts in the quota of
available CO2 in 2021 and beyond, will put pressure even on the mid GWP products. To be truly future proof it is now necessary to utilise refrigerants of around 400 GWP and below in new equipment for new installations or refits. The good news is that recent developments allow those working in commercial refrigeration to have a broader choice of low GWP solution for their applications and indeed for the smaller end of retail refrigeration there is now technology ideally suited for the needs of this sector in terms of ease of use, cost and performance including minmising the all- important energy usage. The first results of this innovation are the commercial implementations of A2L refrigerants by well-known retailers such as Asda and Central England Co-Operative. In the case of Asda they have adopted R454A, an A2L blend of R32 and R1234YF
28 March 2020
in their modular pack design. These packs deliver <40kW and therefore can use refrigerant >150 GWP. R454A has a GWP of 238 and is therefore well below the 400-average needed for sustainable future use and is a good replacement for R404A while having improved energy efficiency versus mid-range GWP interims such as R449A. As A2L fluids, the mild flammability must be considered but this has been covered through design and risk assessment by the manufacturers and installers engaged by Asda. This has resulted in a successful first live store install at Trafford Park in Manchester. Key elements in the project were: minimising charge size to meet the requirements of EN378, ensuring that equipment and component were designed to work safely with A2L class refrigerants and most importantly that an overall risk assessment was completed by the installer. It is intended that the results from this groundbreaking work will made available to the industry in general to enable more rapid and widespread adoption of the technology. Asda’s decision to deploy this refrigerant has been well considered and based on data and facts.
The data shows that, when compared to both their existing mid-range GWP A1 refrigeration systems
and in contrast to the CO2 and hydrocarbon-based solutions being looked at by some other retailers, very low GWP A2L refrigerants can deliver best against the criteria of: Match Cooling Performance Match or exceed energy performance Match system uptime (minimise risk to trade) Match or improve Total Cost of ownership Ideally match Ease of installation and maintenance.
Central England Co-Operative’s new store at Langley Park in Derbyshire was opened in October 2019. This retail group had been looking for a future proof replacement with the lowest possible GWP that would maintain the advantages of the of the familiar HFCs (e.g. R404A) in terms of ease of installation and maintenance, cost efficiency, safety and energy efficiency. They were not convinced by
arguments being made for CO2 booster and propane secondary systems that these would deliver against their criteria for their store size and architecture.
New Central England Co-Op store at Langley Park, Derbyshire..
www.acr-news.com
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