Commercial refrigeration has been under scrutiny by politician and regulators around the world, because of the use of high GWP (Global Warming Potential) fluids like R-404A and because of high leak rates.
In Europe, the F-Gas Regulation has a ban on high GWP refrigerants, and also a phase down on the use of HFCs based on their CO2 equivalent.
The use of refrigerants with low GWP will provide a future-ready solution. To respond to the challenges of the F-Gas and to reduce energy consumption in commercial refrigeration, many new architectures are under investigation and development.
Current solutions available that can be used to help the commercial sector meeting F-Gas targets, are twofold.
For existing R-404A systems, retrofitting with a lower GWP refrigerant is the quickest, most economical and environmentally friendly solution.
For new systems, several architectures are being explored. The combination of R-744 with newly developed HFOs and HFO blends offers added benefits of safety and performance.
Eco-efficiency is one of the best basis to compare various architectures in terms of not only environmental, but also economic impact.
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