Refrigerants

3/12/14
System Variables Impacting Performance 

From Refrigerant Point Of View

Discharge 

Temperature

Mass Flow

Suction 

Temperature

Subcooling

Superheat

Comp. Isen. 

Efficiency

Heat Of 

Evaporation

Heat Of 

Condensing

Ambient 

Temp & 

Humidity

Heat Transfer 

Coeff. Evap

Heat Transfer 

Coeff. Cond.

Critical 

Temperature

Pressure 

Drop Effect

Comp. Vol. 

Efficiency

And

Thermophysical

Properties of 

Refrigerant

Refrigerants that work for one application, may not for another
Lower GWP Refrigerant Landscape

Options For New & Existing Applications

R-410A

Like

Capacity

R404A &

R407/22

Like

R134a

Like

GWP Level

400-675

 < 1500

 ~600

150 -

300

R32

DP: DR7, DR3

HWL: L40, L20

HFO 1234yf

HFO 1234ze

R410A

R407C

R22

0 500 1000 1500 2000

Pressure

Or

DP: DR91, DR33

HWL: N20, N40

DP: DR5

HWL: L41

DP: XP10

HWL: N13 R134a

R407A

CO2

R404A

DP: DR2; HWL: N12

ARK: ARC 1

R290

NH3

A1 – Non Flammable

A2L – Mildly Flammable

A3 – Flammable

B2L – Toxic, Mildly Flam.

Qualitative Chart –

Not To Scale

ARK: ARM 71

ARK: ARM 20, ARM 42

ARK: ARM 32

R407F

R123-Like

(V.Low Pr.)

Category 1 (3922)

Category 2

Category 3
Annual Energy Comparison - Supermarket

LT: 300 kBtu/hr, MT: 900 kBtu/hr, Atlanta

300000

350000

400000

450000

500000

550000

600000

650000

700000

750000

R404A R407A R410A

LT

MT

+6.7% +3.6%

-4.3%

-13.3%

Annual Energy, kWhr

R407 Series Efficient In Medium, Not In Low Temperature

May not be an issue if both temperature applications in use

Category 1
Category 2 – N40/DR33 vs R404A

80%

90%

100%

110%

90 105 120

24h Energy Consumption [% of R404A]

Condensing Temperature [F]

R404A Low Temp

N40

80%

90%

100%

110%

90 105 120

24h Energy Consumption [% of R404A]

Condensing Temperature [F]

R404A Medium Temp

N40

N40 and DR33 (XP40) will be good candidates to replace R404A in both 

Medium and Low temperature applications; expect customers to use this as 

replacements for R22 as well
Category 3: L40/DR7 Vs R404A In A 

Small Charge System (Reach-In)

0.5 HP (Reciprocating Comp.), Freezer Application, Tested Per ASHRAE 72, Steady State With No Cycling Or Door Openings; 

Adjustment To Charge And TXV Setting Only. Room Ambient: 23.90C (750F) And Reach-In Air Temperature: -17.80C (00F) With Product 

Simulators Loaded. Note That Compressor And System Were Not Redesigned Or Optimized For These New Blends With Glide

Once approved and 

available, expect L40/DR7 

like candidates to replace 

R404A in secondary and 

small charge systems like 

walk-ins and reach-ins.

May be a preferred option 

to R134a and even R290 in 

reach-ins, high, medium 

and low temp applications.
Category 3: L40/DR7 Vs R404A In A 

Small Charge System (Walk-In)

3.0 HP (Scroll Comp.), Freezer Application, Tested Per AHRI 1250, Adjustment To Charge And TXV Setting Only. Room Ambient: 350C 

(950F), 150C (590F) And Box Air Temperature: -23.30C (-100F). Note That Compressor And System Were Not Redesigned Or Optimized 

For These New Blends With Glide

Once SNAP listed and 

commercially available, 

expect L40/DR7 to replace 

R404A in walk-in 

applications, due to their 

low charge.
Lower GWP Refrigerant Landscape

Options For New & Existing Applications

R-410A

Like

Capacity

R404A &

R407/22

Like

R134a

Like

GWP Level

400-675

 < 1500

 ~600

150 -

300

R32

DP: DR7, DR3

HWL: L40, L20

HFO 1234yf

HFO 1234ze

R410A

R407C

R22

0 500 1000 1500 2000

Pressure

Or

DP: DR91, DR33

HWL: N20, N40

DP: DR5

HWL: L41

DP: XP10

HWL: N13 R134a

R407A

CO2

R404A

DP: DR2; HWL: N12

ARK: ARC 1

R290

NH3

A1 – Non Flammable

A2L – Mildly Flammable

A3 – Flammable

B2L – Toxic, Mildly Flam.

Qualitative Chart –

Not To Scale

ARK: ARM 71

ARK: ARM 20, ARM 42

ARK: ARM 32

R407F

R123-Like

(V.Low Pr.)

(3922)

Category 2 Category 1
R134a vs XP10, N13, 1234yf And 1234ze In 

Reach-In Application - Analysis Theoretical 24-hr Energy, % R134a

In medium temp reach-in application, R134a consumes less 

energy than most options; actual test results could be different 

based on design losses

-2.00%

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%
Summary

 Changing status of R404A in mutliplex refrigeration systems (as in 

large supermarket DX racks) may be energy neutral with alternates only 

when both medium and low temperature systems are combined

– R407A is better than R404A in medium temperature, but not so in low temperature 

from energy point of view

 Early results indicate that N40 and XP40 could be better than R404A in 

both medium and low temperature applications; they are not yet SNAP 

approved and therefore not commercialized

 In small reach-in systems using R134a, the alternates like XP10, N13 

are not yet commercialized; the HFOs are less efficient and may need 

redesign to improve

– Some “bottle coolers” have already switched/switching to R290 and CO2 with 

redesign of system; these are typically called “high temp” systems

– R290 application are limited due to redesign requirements and charge limitations for 

flammability

– Lower GWP (<1430 GWP) alternates like XP40, N40, DR7, L40 will be good 

alternates with some redesign; but not yet SNAP listed nor commercialized
DuPontTM Opteon® Refrigerants

Optimal Balance of Properties; Many Promising Candidates

Leading Lower GWP Candidates — HFO Based

Non-flammable Mildly Flammable

Current GWP Name GWP Name GWP

HFC-134a 1430 XP10 630 YF 4

DR-14 389

HFC-404A 3902 XP40 1397 DR-7 246

XP44 2140

HFC-410A 2088 DR-5A 460

HCFC-22 1810 DR-91 988

HCFC-123 77 DR-2 9

Notes: GWP values AR4, “DR” designates under development

Presented at AHR Show webinar
Opteon® Low GWP Replacements

for R-404A Leading Candidates

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

404A XP44 XP40 XP10 DR-7

GWP Reduction

 XP44

 Close performance match to R-404A

 Formulated for lowest discharge temperature; ideal

for transport refrigeration

 Non-flammable; for retrofit and new systems

 XP40

 Close performance match to R-404A

 Non-flammable; for retrofit and new systems 

 XP10

 Close performance match to R-134a; for retrofit and 

new systems

 Non-flammable; preferred for hybrid CO2 cascade 

systems

 DR-7

 Close performance match to R-404A

 Mildly flammable (ASHRAE Class 2L expected)

 For smaller charge size equipment (condensing units, 

self-contained)

-65%

-94%

-84%

-45%

%

Presented at AHR Show webinar
Honeywell’s SolsticeTM

Low GWP Refrigerants 

SolsticeTM HFO’s

Current 

Product 

NonFlammable

Mildly Flammable 

(ASHRAE A2L)

Examples of Possible 

Applications

HFC-134a

GWP = 1300

Solstice yf 

GWP = 0

Auto A/C, Vending, 

Refrigerators

Solstice ze 

GWP = 1

Chillers, CO2 Cascades,

Refrigerators

R-123

GWP = 79 Solstice zd

GWP = 1 Centrifugal Chillers

SolsticeTM HFO’s for Low and Medium Pressure Applications

Note: All GWP values use the latest assessment from the ICCP, “AR5”

Presented at AHR Show webinar
Honeywell’s SolsticeTM

Low GWP Refrigerant Blends 

SolsticeTM HFO Blends

Current 

Product 

SolsticeTM N Series

Reduced GWP Option

Non-Flammable 

(ASHRAE A1)

SolsticeTM L Series

Lowest GWP Option 

Mildly Flammable 

(ASHRAE A2L)

Examples of Possible 

Applications

HFC-134a

GWP = 1300 N-13 — GWP = 547 Chillers, Med.-temp 

Refrigeration

HCFC-22

GWP = 1760 N-20 — GWP = 891 L-20 — GWP = 295 Stationary A/C, CO2 

Cascades, Refrigeration

R-404A 

GWP = 3943 N-40 — GWP = 1273 L-40 — GWP = 285 Low-Temp Refrigeration

R-410A 

GWP = 1924

L-41 — GWP = 461

 GWP = 572 Stationary A/C Applications

Note: All GWP values use the latest assessment from the ICCP, “AR5”

SolsticeTM HFO Blends for Medium & High-Pressure Applications

Presented at AHR Show webinar
Arkema’s Next Generation Refrigerants

For Low, Medium and High-Pressure Applications

Current 

Refrigerant

R-123

GWP = 77

R-134a

GWP = 1430

R-410A

GWP = 2100

R-404A

GWP = 3900

R-22

GWP = 1810

NonFlammable

ARC-1

(GWP < 15)

ARM-35

(GWP ~ 2150)

ARM-32b 

(GWP ~ 1400)

ARM-32c 

(GWP < 1400)

Mildly 

Flammable 

R-1234yf

(GWP = 4)

ARM-42 

(GWP < 150)

ARM-71a

(GWP < 500)

ARM-20a

(GWP < 150)

ARM-20b

(GWP ~ 250)

Flammable ARM-25

(GWP < 150)

Presented at AHR Show webinar
Thank You!

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