International. As part of a project started in September 2014, the Dutch international retail group Ahold decided to modernise 175 supermarket refrigeration systems (out of a total of 6,600 stores) from R407F and R507A to R449A, resulting in an 8% increase in energy efficiency.
Developed by Chemours as the Opteon XP40, the R449A is an alternative to the R404A/R507A in new and existing commercial and industrial refrigeration systems. It is a non-flammable HFC/HFO mixture but has a GWP of 1,397. Chemours recently announced that R449A was expected to be in more than 1,000 supermarkets and commercial refrigeration systems worldwide by the end of 2016.
Honeywell recently announced that 15,000 supermarket has refurbished its refrigeration systems with R407F. During a long-term test carried out by ASDA, a supermarket chain in the UK, the R407F consumed 9% less energy than systems using R407A, and around 14% less than systems running R-404A at medium temperature. R407F is a non-flammable mixture of HFCs but has a relatively high GWP of 1,824.
Honeywell also announced that it expects more than 2,000 supermarket refrigeration systems to be converted to R448A refrigerant by the end of 2016. R448A is a non-flammable HFC/HFO mixture with a GWP of 1,273.
As a comparison, international sources claim that R744 (CO2) was installed in around 7,000 supermarkets worldwide, mainly in Europe (more than 5,500) at the beginning of 2016.
"The global refrigeration industry has made a great commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as evidenced by the estimated €50 million of energy savings that have been secured for customers," said Patrick Amrhein, chief marketing officer of Honeywell Fluorine Products in Europe. Middle East, Africa and India.
