Opteon™ XP40Refrigerant (R-449A)

Performance, Energy, and Sustainability
Success at Major Supermarket Chainwith Opteon™ XP40 Refrigerant

BackgroundA major supermarket retailer has been a leader in

After evaluating thefood retail operating in the northeastern Unitedrefrigeration systems

States for over 100 years. Like many chains acrossand options, the consultant’s

the country, the company has ensured food quality

engineering manager made theand safety using systems charged with HCFC-22 torecommendation for the supermarket

provide low- and medium-temperature refrigeration.

chain to convert its R-22 systems to Opteon™
XP40 (R-449A) refrigerant based on its excellent

Recently, as the commercial refrigeration industry

performance and operating parameter match in thetransitions out of R-22 (U.S. production ends

existing equipment.

December 2019), the retailer, along with a teamfrom its facilities management consultant, saw an

The retailer’s maintenance and engineering manager also

opportunity for a move to a more environmentally

saw this as a great opportunity as Opteon™ XP40 is notsustainable, yet cost-effective, solution.

only non-ozone depleting, but also has a 27% lower global
warming potential (GWP) than R-22, helping the company tostay on track with its corporate sustainability goals.

Opteon™ XP40

Refrigerant

The first two R-22 to Opteon™ XP40 conversions took
place in the fall of 2015 at a store in the Boston area.

Opteon™ XP40 Refrigerant
Opteon™ XP40 is a low GWP, non-ozone depleting,replacement for both R-22 and R-404A. As shown in
Table 1, the performance match of Opteon™ XP40
relative to R-22 is excellent.

Table 1. Performance of Opteon™ XP40 vs. R-22*
Refrigerant

Relative Capacity

Relative COP

Relative Mass Flow

Suction Pressure(psig)

Discharge Pressure(psig)

Discharge
Temperature (°F)

Opteon™ XP40

1.03

0.95

1.09

48.4

243.9

180.5

R-22

1.00

1.00

1.00

43.1

210.7

209.2

*At -6.7 °C (20 °F) Evaporator, 10 °C (50 °F) Return Gas, 40.5 °C (105 °F) Condenser, and 35° C (95 °F) Sub-Cool Temperature

Overview of R-22 Refrigeration Systems
Conversion to Opteon™ XP40
Medium-temperature refrigeration in the Boston-area store
was provided by two independent parallel rack systems,
originally designed for R-22, serving produce, meat, anddairy cases, as well as walk-in coolers and prep areas. Eachrack contained approximately 700 lb of R-22.
The conversion of the refrigerant in each of the systems
took place on separate evenings in October 2015. Following
the procedures detailed in the Chemours “Retrofit Guide”(www.opteon.com), the mineral oil was replaced with POE
oil prior to the retrofit. In order to minimize potential forleaks, all critical elastomeric seals were replaced during thegas change out—standard practice for any R-22 retrofit.

Because the mass flow rate and suction pressures ofOpteon™ XP40 are very similar to those of R-22, noreplacements or major adjustments to the TXVs wereneeded. Once the system was charged with Opteon™ XP40and started up, cases and walk-in coolers quickly reached
set point temperatures. The morning after each retrofit,
technicians made minor adjustments to the TXVs as
needed, and the suction pressures were optimized toachieve equivalent average evaporator temperatures aswith R-22. Opteon™ XP40 has continued to provide
dependable cooling for these supermarket racks since then.

Energy Performance
A few months prior to the Opteon™ XP40 conversion,energy monitors were installed on the R-22 racks toestablish baseline performance. Data, over a wide range ofambient conditions, was collected hourly and reported by athird party firm for several months. Figure 1 plots the total
daily energy (kWh) used for each rack versus the daily
average ambient temperature (°F) for both R-22 andOpteon™ XP40 refrigerants.

Opteon™ XP40

Refrigerant

Figure 1. Daily Energy Usage Versus Ambient Temperature for MT Racks Running on R-22 and Opteon™ XP40

Opteon™ XP40 and R-22 Energy Data - Rack 1600500Daily Total Energy (Kwh)400300R-22200R-449APoly. (R-22)

100Poly. (R-449A)

02030405060708090

Daily Average Temperature (°F)

Opteon™ XP40 and R-22 Energy Data - Rack 2
800

Total Daily Energy (Kwh)

700
600
500
400

R-22300

R-449A

200

Poly. (R-22)

100

Poly. (R-449A)

02030

405060708090

Daily Average Temperature (°F)

The energy plots in Figure 1 show the expected increase in energy usage with increasing ambient temperature. The dataalso clearly shows that Opteon™ XP40 has lower energy consumption when compared to R-22 over the entire range ofambient temperature conditions. Across all of the data recorded, the average energy reduction benefit of Opteon™ XP40
was 8-10%.

Opteon™ XP40

Refrigerant

Conclusion
All medium-temperature R-22 racks at the supermarket
were successfully converted from R-22 to Chemours low
GWP refrigerant, Opteon™ XP40.
Noted the facilities management consultant, “The conversions
themselves were straightforward and went as planned, andthese racks have been operating well, meeting all coolingdemand while providing a reduction in energy usage.”
In addition to decreasing its energy costs by retrofitting toOpteon™ XP40, the supermarket chain has also
successfully lowered both its direct (lower GWP refrigerant)
and indirect (lower energy impact) carbon footprint.
As the phaseout of R-22 enters its final year, operators in thecommercial refrigeration industry are finding Opteon™ XP40
provides a proven and cost-effective solution to improve theefficiency of their existing equipment infrastructure whiletransitioning to more sustainable refrigerants.

For more information on the Opteon™ family of refrigerants, or other refrigerants products, visit opteon.com or call (800) 235-7882.
The information set forth herein is furnished free of charge and based on technical data that Chemours believes to be reliable. It is intended for use by persons having technical skill, attheir own risk. Because conditions of use are outside our control, Chemours makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and assumes no liability in connection with any use of thisinformation. Nothing herein is to be taken as a license to operate under, or a recommendation to infringe, any patents or patent applications.
© 2019 The Chemours Company FC, LLC. Opteon™ and any associated logos are trademarks or copyrights of The Chemours Company FC, LLC. Chemours™ and the Chemours Logo aretrademarks of The Chemours Company.
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