SUPERMARKET SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT
Retrofitting low GWP refrigerants
A-Gas managing director John Ormerod talks about switching from R404A to a lower GWP refrigerant in a supermarket system.
R
404A, one of the most widely used refrigerants in the industry, has rarely been out of the headlines recently. R404A, with a GWP of just under 4000, has been hard hit by the F-Gas phasedowns and this year’s 37% cut in the quota for the production of virgin gases is having a major aff ect in more ways than one. Prices for R404A rose steeply last year as the market reacted to the phasedowns and the focus was on getting users to move away from high GWP products.
Supermarkets up and down the country are the forefront of change in refrigerant use. Many have seen the F-Gas train coming down the track and are responding to the demands of the phasedowns but there are still those who have yet to make the switch to a low GWP alternative. For managers of refrigeration plant who are in the process of making the change – or have yet to do so – there is no need to panic. Yes, you will need to switch at some point but do you need to make that change today? In short, the answer is no. R404A is still available for use and helps to relieve the pressure of retrofi tting to an alternative but when you are ready to opt for a low GWP refrigerant there are a number of important considerations to take into account.
The system must have similar operating characteristics to R404A in terms of being a medium or low temperature
44 April 2018
replacement. To achieve this you must match the refrigeration capacity as closely as possible with the lowest GWP refrigerant available. The industry should banish the word drop-in because there really is no such thing. With the introduction of any replacement refrigerant an adjustment will have to be made to the system to get the best out of it – let me emphasise it is not a case of simply dropping it in.
Your refrigerant supplier will be able to help you in the selection of the most appropriate refrigerant for the system and you should consult with the equipment manufacturer too before making a fi nal decision. There are several suitable retrofi t refrigerants on the market – R407F is a medium GWP option but Opteon XP40 (R449A) and Solstice N40 (R448A) off er a lower GWP alternative. They are currently the lowest GWP replacements on the market (around 1400) and are closely matched to R404A in terms of refrigeration capacity.
It is a key aspect of the retrofi t to discover what the system has been running on beforehand. It is also important to record the quantity of refrigerant put in or taken out of the system to satisfy the obligations of the F-Gas Regulations. Online reporting tools make this easy.
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