COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS EMISSIONS 

Donald B. Bivens 

DuPont Fluoroproducts 

210 West Locust Lane 

Kennett Square, PA 19348 

Phone: 610-444-9140 

Fax: 610-444-9659 

Donald.b.bivens-1@usa.dupont.com

Cynthia L. Gage 

US Environmental Protection Agency 

Office of Research and Development 

Research Triangle Park, NC 

ABSTRACT 

Commercial refrigeration systems refrigerant emissions in the 1980’s were reported to be in the 

range of 20-35% of refrigerant charge on an annual basis for developed countries. The high 

emission rates were due to design, construction, installation, and service procedures followed 

without awareness of potential environmental impact. Emissions have been decreasing due to 

industry actions and governmental regulations for refrigerant containment, recovery, and usage 

record keeping, increased personnel training, improved service procedures, and attention to many 

details in system design. This paper will provide a progress report on refrigerant emission 

reductions from commercial refrigeration systems, estimates for future emissions, plus life cycle 

climate performance calculations for several refrigeration system options. 

INTRODUCTION 

Commercial refrigeration systems have many differences in terms of size and applications. 

Stand-alone equipment consists of systems where all the components are integrated, such as 

beverage vending machines, ice cream freezers, and stand-alone display cases. The systems are 

hermetic with small refrigerant charge sizes (0.2 – 1 kg), and have low refrigerant emissions at 

≤1% of charge annual loss /Mar98; ADL02/. 

Condensing units are small commercial systems with compressors and condensers located 

external to the sales area, and the evaporators in display cases in the sales area, or in a cold room 

for cold storage. These units are installed in shops such as bakeries, butchers, and convenience 

stores in non-Article 5(1) countries, and in larger food retailer stores in Article 5(1) countries. 

These systems have larger charge sizes (1-5 kg), and refrigerant emissions depend on robustness 

of system design, installation practices, and maintenance procedures. Refrigerant emissions are 

estimated in the range of 1-10% of charge annual loss, with the average likely toward the upper 

portion of the range /Mar98; AEA03/. 

Centralized systems consist of a series of compressors and condensers located in a remote 

machinery room, providing a cooling medium to display cabinets and cold storage rooms in other 

parts of the building. The size of systems can vary from cooling capacities of 20 kW to more than 

1 MW, as used in larger supermarkets. Refrigerant charge sizes can range from 100 to 2,000 kg. 

The most common form of centralized system is termed direct expansion (DX), in which 
refrigerant circulates throughout the system. Specific units can be dedicated to low, medium, or 

high temperature evaporators. 

The centralized systems as just described had refrigerant emissions in the 1980’s reported in the 

range of 20-35% of charge on an annual basis /Fis91; AEA03; Ped03/. The high emission rates 

were due to design, construction, installation, and service practices followed without awareness 

of potential environmental impact. Emissions from these systems have been decreasing due to 

industry actions and governmental regulations for refrigerant containment, recovery, and usage 

record keeping, increased personnel training, improved service procedures, and attention to many 

details in system design, construction, and installation. 

A variation of the DX centralized system is the indirect expansion system (also termed secondary 

loop system) in which the centralized refrigeration system cools a heat transfer fluid which is 

circulated to the display cases and cold storage rooms. This design permits a refrigerant charge 

size reduction of 75-85%. Fluorocarbon-based refrigerants are used in these systems, and if the 

centralized refrigeration system can be located in a controlled-access room away from the 

customer sales area, indirect systems may also use flammable and/or toxic refrigerants, depending 

on system safety measures and country safety regulations. Refrigerant emissions are reduced to 2-

4 % of charge per year /ADL02/ due to reduced refrigerant piping lengths and number of 

connecting joints. 

Another variation of the DX supermarket refrigeration system is the distributed system in which 

compressors are located in sound-proof boxes near the display cases, permitting the shortening of 

refrigerant circuit lengths and reduction of refrigerant charge by 75%. Condensing units can be 

air-cooled or water-cooled. With the close-coupled system design, average refrigerant emissions 

are estimated at 4% of charge on an annual basis /ADL02/. The reduced refrigerant charge size 

and emission rates result in significantly lower climate change impact for the distributed system 

versus the centralized DX system. 

Finally, a third version of the DX centralized system is a cascade system with HFC refrigerant in 

the medium temperature stage, and carbon dioxide as refrigerant in the low temperature stage. 

These systems have been tested in Europe since 2000, with good experience in terms of cost and 

energy efficiency /Haa02/. 

Centralized supermarket refrigeration systems are the main focus of this paper, as refrigerant 

emissions from commercial refrigeration systems were estimated to be 24% of worldwide 

refrigerant emissions in the year 2000 /Pal03/, and the centralized systems have the higher 

leakage rates in the commercial refrigeration sector. Energy efficiency is also an important 

consideration, as total climate change impact of a system is the combination of refrigerant 

emissions plus carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel power plants to generate the power to 

operate the refrigeration system. These two factors are combined to quantify the climate change 

impact of a refrigeration system, and example calculations will be provided in this paper. 

REFRIGERANT EMISSIONS 

As reported in the INTRODUCTION, centralized DX supermarket systems had high rates of 

refrigerant emissions in the 1980s. Studies and implementation of measures to reduce emissions 

from these systems will be described following. In addition, information on country initiatives for 

refrigerant conservation (emission reduction) are described in the 2002 UNEP TOC report, 

sections 4.7 and 10.1-10.9 /UNE02/. 
The Netherlands

In the Netherlands, emissions have been significantly reduced through national mandatory 

regulations established in 1992 for CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs, assisted by an industry initiated 

certification model (STEK). The Dutch regulations consist of several elements /Ger98/, with the 

following listed as examples: 

• New systems and modifications of existing systems must fulfill detailed technical 

requirements to improve tightness. 

• Flared joints are forbidden. 

• Overpressure protection designed such that refrigerant emission to the ambient is minimized. 

• System commissioning procedures include pressure and leakage tests. 

• Each system has a log book for recording system failures, refrigerant additions, maintenance 

activities, and leak detection test results. 

• Periodic system inspections conducted, including leak tightness. Systems with refrigerant 

charge exceeding 1000 kg equipped with automatic detection systems combined with 

automatic shut-off valves. 

• Decommissioning includes reclaim and recovery of refrigerant. 

• Companies carrying out maintenance and installation work must be certified and their 

personnel qualified. 

The STEK organization was founded in 1991 on the joint efforts of the government and trade and 

industry groups in the refrigeration and air conditioning industries. The aim of STEK was to 

promote skillful handling of refrigerants and reduce/prevent refrigerant emissions. In 1992, the 

Dutch Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning, and the Environment (VROM) transferred the 

responsibility to STEK for the certification of companies and qualification of personnel, 

including an inspection and verification system. Only companies with a STEK certificate may 

carry out work on a refrigeration system. 

The success of the Dutch regulations and the STEK organization in reducing refrigerant 

emissions was demonstrated with results from a detailed study in 1999 of emission data from 

refrigeration and air-conditioning sectors. For commercial refrigeration, annual refrigerant 

emissions (emissions during leakage plus disposal) were 3.2% of the total bank of refrigerant 

contained in this sector /Hoo02, STE01/. 

Germany

In Germany, two articles have reported direct evaporation supermarket systems refrigerant 

leakage rates in the range of 5-10% per year. A research project ”Tightness of Refrigeration 

Systems”, was conducted by the Institut fur Luft- und Kaltetechnik , commissioned by the 

Forschungsrat Kaltetechnik (Research Council for Refrigeration Technology) /Bir00/. Statistical 

methods were used to select the refrigeration systems to be evaluated, such that representative 

data could be generalized to all commercial refrigeration systems in Germany. 42 refrigeration 

systems were selected in Hesse, and 20 systems in Saxony. Refrigerant leak points were 

identified, and leak rates quantified by use of halogen leak detectors. There were several findings 

which provided important insight to refrigerant leakage characteristics. 

• No leaks were identified in 40.3% of the systems. 

• 14.4% of the leaks contributed 85% of the refrigerant losses. 

• 83% of the number of leaks occurred in the assembly joints, such as flanged and screw joints, 

plus service valves and sight glasses. 

From this information, it was obvious that a few “bad” systems caused most of the leakage, and 

some of their major conclusions to improve system tightness were: 

• careful assembly of flanged joints and separable connections, 
• use improved service valves, 

• whenever maintenance is performed, a follow-up leak test is required, and 

• use proper leak test procedures and correct evaluation of leak data. 

For the 19 centralized refrigeration systems built between 1991 to 1999, and having charge sizes 

of 60 to 300 kg, the leakage data indicated annual refrigerant loss rate of 9.3% of charge. 

The second article /Haa02/ reported on centralized supermarket refrigeration systems using HFC 

refrigerant R404A in direct expansion for medium and low temperature refrigeration. Data were 

taken on systems installed in Germany after 1995 with improved technologies for leak tightness, 

plus reduction of refrigerant fill quantities by 15%. The average leakage rates were determined to 

be 5% of charge, which is a reduction from earlier years values of 10% of charge annual rates. 

Denmark

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency reports that new commercial refrigeration systems 

have become more leak-proof through quality improvement efforts of three refrigeration 

associations. Whereas refrigerant losses were earlier 20-25% of refrigerant charge per year, the 

new systems are at approximately 10% loss per year /Ped03/. 

Norway

A Norwegian company of 220 supermarkets provided refrigerant fill data for the time period of 

2002 – 2003, showing annual refrigerant losses of 14% of the total bank of refrigerant contained 

in their supermarkets /Nek04/. 

Sweden

A large Swedish supermarket chain provided refrigerant fill data from the time period of 1993 to 

2002, with annual refrigerant losses decreasing from 14.0% in 1993, to 12.5% in 1998, and to 

10.4% in 2001 /Lun04/. The overall lower emissions might be attributed, in part, to increased 

application of indirect cooling systems in supermarkets The annual leakage experiences with the 

several refrigerants are shown in Figure 1, and there are differences in leakage behavior of the 

refrigerants which might provide valuable learnings. For example, what factors contributed to the 

lower emission rates of R134a and R407C (3-6%) compared with R404A (12%)? And what 

caused the gradual increase of R404A emissions from an initial 3% to a levelling off at 12%? 

Possible factors might be R404A operation at the more severe low temperature cooling 

conditions, and/or ageing of piping and valve connections, all worthy of further investigation. 

United States

In the United States, a report by the Environmental Protection Agency /Tro97/ details options for 

reducing supermarket refrigerant emissions, with four sets of data from supermarket 

organizations across the United States. The companies with a total of 349 stores reported average 

refrigerant loss rates in the range of 8-15% per year in the time period of 1993-1994. 

More recent data have shown somewhat higher refrigerant loss rates. Reports of refrigerant 

emissions for 2001 and 2002 from two supermarket chains located in the western and eastern 

United States /Biv04/ showed annual refrigerant leakage losses of 18% and 22% of system 

refrigerant inventory. 

Another source of United States refrigerant emissions data comes from the South Coast Air 

Quality Management District (SCAQMD), a four county region consisting of Los Angeles and 

Orange counties and parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, representing a population of 

15 million people in southern California. SCAQMD requires biannual reporting from facilities 

which have systems containing 22.7 kilograms (50 pounds) or more of CFC and/or HCFC 
refrigerants. The reports must include the charge size, refrigerant type, and annual refrigerant 

usage for each system in the facility. 

Data from the 2000 and 2001 reports are presented below where refrigeration systems have been 

sorted into seven charge-size groups /Gag04/. Data were available for 223 supermarkets 

having1164 refrigeration systems in 2000 and 1217 refrigeration systems in 2001. Although the 

reporting requirements did not apply for systems using HFCs, 5% of the systems reported in 2001 

and 2001 used R-404a. The percentage of systems using HCFC-22 declined slightly from 58% in 

2000 to 56% in 2001. Table 1 shows the average charge size for each of the seven groups. 

Table 1: Number of Systems and Average Charge Size in Refrigeration Systems in the 

California South Coast Air Quality Management District 

Charge Range Year 2000 Year 2001 

(kgs) No. Systems Average (kgs) No. Systems Average (kgs) 

22.7 to 46 82 36.2 92 35.8 

47 to 69 371 65.7 398 64.9 

70 to 137 132 108.7 145 106.2 

138 to 228 211 209.2 211 209.8 

229 to 455 196 347.5 196 347.2 

456 to 682 128 613.4 130 612.4 

683 to 1285 44 800.4 45 800.8 

` 

Figure 2 shows the percentage of systems in each group which reported no refrigerant usage (and 

thus no leaks) in a given year. Over the two year period, the percentage of systems requiring no 

refrigerant addition was closely related to system refrigerant charge size. 77% of the smaller 

charge size systems (23-137 kg) required no refrigerant additions, 65% of the medium charge size 

systems (138 – 455 kg) required no refrigerant additions, and 44% of the larger charge size 

systems (456 – 1285 kg) required no refrigerant additions. This gradation is as might be expected, 

as the larger charge size systems in retail refrigeration applications have longer piping runs, more 

assembly joints, more valves, and therefore more opportunities for refrigerant leakage. 

Figure 3 shows the annual emission rates for the several charge-size systems. On a total system 

basis, the average emission rates were 13% for 2000, and 19% for 2001. For the small number of 

R404A systems reported, the average emission rates were 9% in 2000 and 8% in 2001. If it can 

be assumed that R404A is used only in the newer systems, these lower rates may be an indication 

of more leak-tight design and construction. 

Since the average emission rates include those systems with no emissions (as shown in Figure 2), 

on a per system basis the leaking systems have significantly higher loss rates than the averages. 

This observation amplifies the importance of periodic checking with leak detectors, representing 

a significant opportunity to identify and repair high leakage rate sources. 

Other Emissions Data Sources

Palandre, Zoughaib, Clodic, and Kuijpers /Pal03/ report creation of databases for refrigeration 

and air conditioning equipment with refrigerant charge sizes to determine global refrigerant 

inventory, and emission factors for each type of system. Data from their report permits 

calculation of the worldwide commercial refrigeration refrigerant emission rate for year 2000, 

that number being 22% of commercial refrigeration systems inventory. 
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has a Vintaging Model for 

collection of information on annual market size, growth rates, amount of chemical required by 

each unit of equipment in the model, and history of chemical substitution /EPA04/. Emissions 

from each end-use are estimated by applying emission profiles to each vintage of equipment. The 

model has been applied to include international emissions by using country-specific refrigerant 

consumption estimates, and by using adjustment factors to United States substitution scenarios, 

based on differences in growth, rates of phase-out, and refrigerant use patterns. For world-wide 

commercial refrigeration, the model information has been used to estimate 2015 HFC emissions 

of 75,000 tons (refrigerant weight basis) for a baseline case, and 20-30% less if abatement options 

are fully applied. The abatement options include more aggressive leak detection and repair, and 

increased use of distributed and secondary loop systems. It is essential that developing countries 

be assisted with abatement options, as their share of worldwide commercial refrigeration HFC 

emissions is estimated to be 34% in 2015. 

Going into the future, it will be useful for the two modelling groups to compare their systems 

inventories and emission estimates, and identify the more important application sectors and 

regions of the world for increased emphasis on emission reduction. Based on their publications, 

there seems to be a reasonable agreement in current global HFC emissions from refrigeration and 

air conditioning. The Palandre et al paper reports refrigeration and air conditioning HFC 

emissions in 2000 of around 70,000 tons. The USEPA paper estimates 2005 refrigeration and air 

conditioning HFC emissions of 110,000 tons (after conversion from carbon equivalent to tons of 

refrigerant). These seem to be similar numbers considering industry growth and change-over to 

HFCs from 2000 to 2005. 

Perspective on Emissions

Current refrigerant emissions data for commercial refrigeration systems as reported in the 

previous sections vary from 3% to 22% of refrigerant inventory on an annual basis. The four sets 

of United States data for three regions of supermarkets in the time period of 2000-2002 showed 

emissions rates of 13%, 18%, 19%, and 22%. Reported European supermarket annual leak rates 

are at lower values, from 3% in The Netherlands, to 5-10% in Germany, 10% in Denmark and 

Sweden, and 14% in Norway. Studies have identified the main sources of emissions, with 

recommendations for improved design, installation, and maintenance procedures, including more 

frequent use of leak detectors. There are additional routes to lower emission rates, such as 

distributed systems with shorter piping lengths, and indirect systems in which the primary 

refrigeration system is coupled with a secondary heat transfer fluid. The indirect systems have 

additional investment costs and traditionally lower energy efficiency than DX systems, and these 

factors will be discussed in the next section. 

LIFE CYCLE CLIMATE PERFORMANCE 

Life cycle climate performance (LCCP) of a refrigeration or air conditioning system includes all 

of the warming impacts due to the use of the system through its lifetime. 

Included are the carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel power plants to generate the power to 

operate the system, plus refrigerant emissions during operation of the system, end-of-life 

refrigerant disposal losses, refrigerant losses during transport, and embodied energy and trace 

greenhouse gas emissions from production of the refrigerant. 

These components of LCCP were included in calculations for a supermarket system reported by 

A. D. Little /ADL02/. We have taken the basic example described in the report, and added several 

new variations in supermarket systems. A 5575 square meter (60,000 square foot) supermarket 

was analyzed using utility emission rate of 0.65 kg CO2 per kWh, yearly refrigeration energy 

consumption of 1.2 million kWh, and 15 year equipment life. A conventional DX system 
operating with R404A (or R507A) charge of 1636 kg and refrigerant emission rate of 15% per 

year was initially assumed. Refrigerant manufacturing GWP, 100 year ITH, was taken as 18, for 

a total GWP of R404a of 3278. 

Several system design changes beyond the baseline system were evaluated for LCCP. 

• DX system with 5% annual leak rate as demonstrated in Germany and The Netherlands. 

• DX system with 5% annual leak rate and refrigerant charge size reduced 40% by critically 

charging the system.

• DX system with 5% annual leak rate, critically charged with refrigerant R404A, and energy 

consumption 10% lower than baseline DX system.

• Distributed system with 4% annual leak rate and energy consumption same as DX system; 

refrigerant charge size 25% of DX. 

• Secondary loop system with 4% annual leak rate; primary refrigeration system charge size 

11% of DX, energy consumption 15% higher than DX system, R404A primary refrigerant 

• Secondary loop system as previous, but with ammonia or hydrocarbon as primary refrigerant 

• Secondary loop system same as two previous, but with energy consumption only 5% higher 

than DX system. 

The varying conditions chosen for the options in the LCCP table are based on literature reports. 

As one example, Haaf and Heinbokel /Haa02/ have reported data from 77 supermarkets installed 

with secondary loop systems. The secondary loop systems had installed costs 15-35% higher than 

DX systems, and energy consumption 5-20% higher than DX systems. 

Table 2: LCCP of Supermarket Refrigeration System Design Options 

 LCCP, million kg CO2 

Configuration Leak Rate 

Energy 

Consumption Indirect Direct Total 

DX, 1636 kg R404A 15% Baseline 11.7 12.1 23.8 

DX, 1636 kg R404A 5% Baseline 11.7 4.0 15.7 

DX, 982 kg R404A 5% Baseline 11.7 2.4 14.1 

DX, 982 kg R404A 5% -10% 10.5 2.4 12.9 

Distr, 409 kg R404A 4% Baseline 11.7 0.8 12.5 

Sec Lp,180 kg R404A 4% +15% 13.5 0.4 13.9 

Sec Loop, NH3 or HC 4% +15% 13.5 0 13.5 

Sec Lp,180 kg R404A 4% +5% 12.3 0.4 12.7 

Sec Loop, NH3 or HC 4% +5% 12.3 0 12.3 

It is recognized that the LCCP values in Table 2 are based on several assumptions such as utility 

fuel source and CO2 emissions rate, and overall system design and performance. There can be 

differences due to country-specific utility fuel sources, and the state of refrigeration system 

technology such as laboratory or commercial system demonstrations. The main purpose of the 

Table is to illustrate the potential magnitude of changes in LCCP for several improvement 

options. The data show that LCCP can be reduced by up to 50% with the options. 

 

Research is underway in many countries to reduce LCCP of supermarket refrigeration systems, 

with expectations for additional improvements in the systems described above, and in more 

advanced designs such as cascade systems using carbon dioxide as the lower stage refrigerant. 

Tests of carbon dioxide as the only refrigerant in commercial refrigeration systems are also 

underway /Sch02; Gir03/. 
CONCLUSIONS 

Supermarket refrigeration systems emissions data from several countries show reductions in 

refrigerant emissions since the earlier losses of up to 35% of system charge per year. Reduced 

emissions are due to improved systems design, installation, and maintenance procedures, as 

described earlier in this paper. Additional emission abatement options include use of distributed, 

secondary loop, and cascade systems. Initial investment costs, operating costs, and energy 

consumption are important factors in considering the several system options. LCCP calculations 

show the importance of energy efficiency, refrigerant charge size, and refrigerant emissions in 

reducing the climate change impact of supermarket refrigeration systems. It is essential that 

developing countries be assisted with abatement options, as their share of global commercial 

refrigeration HFC emissions is estimated to be 34% in 2015. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

Dave Godwin of U.S. EPA assisted by analyzing emissions estimates from the EPA Vintaging 

Model. David De Boer and his staff at the California South Coast Air Quality Management 

District provided their district refrigerants database for our use. Petter Neksa of Sintef 

Engineering, Trondheim, Norway, and Per Lundqvist of Dept. of Energy Technology, KTH, 

Stockholm, Sweden, shared emissions data from supermarket chains located in their countries. 

REFERENCES 

/ADL02/ A. D. Little, Inc., ”Global Comparative Analysis of HFC and Alternative 

Technologies for Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, Foam, Solvent, Aerosol 

Propellant, and Fire Protection Applications”, report for the Alliance for 

Responsible Atmospheric Policy, Washington, D.C., March 21, 2002. 

 

/AEA03/ AEA Technology, ”Emissions and Projections of HFCs, PFCs and SF6 for the 

UK and Constituent Countries”, report prepared for the Global Atmosphere 

Division of the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, July 

2003. 

/Bir00/ R. Birndt, R. Riedel, and J. Schenk, “Tightness of Commercial Refrigeration 

Systems’, DIE KALTE & Klimatechnik, pp 56-63, September 2000. 

/Biv04/ D. Bivens, DuPont Fluoroproducts, Wilmington, DE, private communications 

from supermarket chains in western and eastern United States, 2004. 

/EPA04/ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "International ODS Substitute Emissions 

1990-2020: Inventories, Projections, and Opportunities for Reductions". Office 

of Air and Radiation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Washington, DC, 

April 2004. 

/Fis91/ S. K. Fischer, et al, ”Energy and Global Warming Impacts of CFC Alternative 

Technologies”, Alternative Fluorocarbons Environmental Acceptability Study 

(AFEAS) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Washington, D.C., 1991. 

/Gag04/ C. Gage, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle 

Park, NC, data from California South Coast Air Quality Management District, 

2004. 
/Ger98/ R. J.M. van Gerwen and M. Verwoerd, “Dutch Regulations for reduction of 

Refrigerant Emissions: Experiences with a Unique Approach over the period 

1993-1998”, ASERCOM Symposium: Refrigeration/Air conditioning and 

Regulations for Environment Protection – A Ten Years Outlook for Europe, 

Nuremberg, October, 1998. 

/Gir03/ S. Girotto, S. Minetto, and P. Neksa, “Commercial Refrigeration System with 

CO2 as Refrigerant Experimental Results”, Int. Congress of Refrigeration, 

Washington, DC, 2003. 

/Haa02/ S. Haaf and B. Heinbokel, ”Alternative Refrigerants for Supermarket 

Refrigeration Installations”, DKV-Tagungsbericht (Proceedings), Volume 2, 

Issue Pt. 2, pp 29-42, 2002. 

/Hoo02/ B. van den Hoogen and H. van der Ree, ”The Dutch Approach to Reduce 

Emissions of Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases”, IIR Conference, Zero Leakage, 

Minimum Charge, Efficient Systems for Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, and 

Heat Pumps, Stockholm, August, 2002. 

/Lun04/ Per Lundqvist, Dept. of Energy Technology, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden, private 

communication from Swedish supermarket chain, 2004. 

/Mar98/ March Consulting Group, “Opportunities to Minimise Emissions of 

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) from the European Union”, EC DG3 HFC Study, 

UK, September, 1998. 

/Nek04/ P. Neksa, Sintef Engineering, Trondheim, Norway, private communication from 

Norwegian supermarket chain, 2004. 

/Ped03/ Per H. Pedersen, ”Evaluation of the possibilities of substituting potent greenhouse 

gases (HFCs, PFCs and SF6)”, Environmental Project No. 771, Danish 

Environmental Protection Agency, 2003. 

/Pal03/ L. Palandre, Assaad Zoughaib, D. Clodic, and L. Kuijpers, ”Estimation of the 

world-wide fleets of refrigerating and air-conditioning equipment in order to 

determine forecasts of refrigerant emissions”, The Earth Technology Forum, 

Washington, D.C., April 2003. 

/Sch02/ P. Schiesaro and H. Kruse, “Development of a Two Stage CO2 Supermarket 

System”, New Technologies in Commercial Refrigeration, IIR Conference, 

Urbana, IL, July 2002. 

/STE01/ ”Consumption of refrigerants in the Netherlands”, report based on the National 

Investigation on Refrigerant Flows, Zero measurement for 1999, STEK, 2001. 

/Tro97/ E. F. Troy, ”Options for Reducing Emissions from Supermarket Systems”, report 

for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA-600/R-97-039, Washington, 

D.C., April 1997. 

/UNE02/ United Nations Environment Programme, ”2002 Report of the Refrigeration, Air 

Conditioning and Heat Pumps Technical Options Committee”, 2002. 
Figure 2: Percentage of Systems with no Refrigerant Addition

(California South Coast Air Quality Management District)

62%

83% 83%

74%

69%

53%

36%

84%

78%

72%

61%

57%

44% 44%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

23 to 46 47 to 69 70 to 137 138 to 228 229 to 455 456 to 682 683 to 1285

2000

2001

Charge Size (kgs)

Figure 1: Swedish Supermarket Company 

Annual Refrigerant Leakage as % of Charge

0

5

10

15

20

25

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Leakage, % of charge

R502

R12

R404A

R22

R134a

R404A

R407C
Figure 3: Annual Refrigerant Emission Rates

(California South Coast Air Quality Management District)

24%

10%

11%

10% 11%

16%

13% 13% 13%

16%

17%

23%

19%

18%

16%

19%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

23 to 46 47 to 69 70 to 137 138 to 228 229 to 455 456 to 682 683 to 1285 All Systems

Charge size (kgs)

2000

2001