Rtoc assessment Report 2014 (Slight corrections made in Tables 2-8 and 2-9)

Options for new equipment

4.3.1 Stand-alone equipment

Several stand-alone equipment types are described in this section, in order to analyse the trends for refrigerant choices depending on the cooling capacity, the refrigerant charge, and the refrigerant circuit design. Many of stand-alone equipments are owned and installed by global food companies. Those companies develop their own environmental policy and choosing low-GWP refrigerants as well as energy-efficient systems are part of the green positioning of those companies.

Bottle coolers

Glass-door bottle coolers can be found in nearly every supermarket, gas station, and kiosk. The most common type is the one-door 400-liter type, but also bigger (2 or 3 glass doors) and smaller types are on the market.

Hydrocarbon (HC-290) bottle coolers as well as CO₂ bottle coolers show good energy performances and with R&D developments even better compared to the HFC-134a base line. Hydrocarbon bottle coolers showed 28% reduced energy consumption compared to HFC-134a bottle coolers, and for CO₂ 12% energy consumption reduction (Pedersen, 2008). The choice of HC-290 is made by several European companies manufacturing those bottle coolers, while CO₂ is preferred by others, based on a different perception of safety risks.

Within the AHRI / AREP test program, laboratory tests have been performed in order to evaluate the two low-GWP HFCs: HFC-1234yf and HFC-1234ze, and HFC-134a based blends designed to replace HFC-134a at nearly the same performances. Tests indicate that those low-GWP refrigerants are in the same range of performances and that refrigeration system optimization is necessary and will be developed in the near future.

Ice-cream cabinets

R-404A and HFC-134a are the refrigerants used in ice-cream cabinets and are progressively being replaced with HC-290 by large food companies. In 2014, the number of HC-290 ice-cream cabinets is expected to be more than one million units as assessed by a leading global company (Refrigerants Naturally, 2014).

Vending machines

Vending machines for soft drinks require a significant cooling capacity to rapidly cool the soft drink container. The usual refrigerant charge of HFC-134a varies between 0.5 and 1 kg leading to the development of CO₂ options to compete with hydrocarbons. High-efficiency CO₂ cassettes have been developed by a Japanese company and are sold to many OEM companies for integration. The CO₂ technology is compact and has passed the tests of energy efficiency defined by soft drink companies. HC-290 vending machines have also been developed to perform satisfactorily from an energy point of view. As for bottle coolers the choice between CO₂ and hydrocarbons is made based on conclusions drawn from the risk analysis and the impact of possible incidents or accidents.

Water coolers

A large number of water coolers for both bottled water and tap water are installed worldwide. The refrigeration capacity is small and the refrigeration circuit is fully brazed. Thus this equipment looks like a small domestic refrigeration system. Many companies have switched from HFC-134a to isobutane (HC-600a). The hydrocarbon charge could be as low as 20 g.

Ice machines

Ice machines are installed in restaurants, bars and hotels, and are dominantly found in North America. Many different refrigeration capacities are found depending on the size of the machine, as well as different technologies depending on the type of ices: cubes, pellets, flakes etc. The usual R-404A charge can vary from 500 g to 2 kg. Within the AHRI/AREP program, an ice-machine dispenser has been tested with a new low-GWP HFC-based blend with a temperature glide of about 7 K at the evaporator. Report #2 indicates lower refrigeration capacity of about 4% without any optimization being done (Schlosser, 2012). In Europe, and in other regions, small ice machines now use HC-290 and are sold as a standard option. More recently, several equipment manufacturers have started introducing ice machines using CO₂ as the refrigerant (Shecco, 2014).

Supermarket plug-in display cases

The use of supermarket cabinets of the plug-in type is increasing in Europe, especially in discounter stores. Many small- and medium-size supermarkets install such units instead of the cabinet cooled by a remote refrigeration system. The plug-in cabinets have lower installed cost, are more flexible and require less system maintenance, because of the fully brazed circuit. Plug-in cabinets are significantly less energy efficient compared to display cases cooled by condensing units or compressor racks, because small compressors have lower energy efficiency than larger ones.

Moreover, the condenser heat is released into the supermarket sales area where the display cases are installed. For high outdoor temperatures, the heat released in the sales area requires higher cooling capacity for air conditioning. On the contrary, the heat released is a gain in winter in moderate and cold climates. Some installations of stand-alone display cases are designed with water cooled condensers allowing the release of heat outdoor, usually using a small water chiller; in this specific design, energy efficiency can reach acceptable levels.

The refrigerant choice used to be R-404A. Since 2007, hydrocarbon display-cases using HC-290 have been proposed as a standard option in Europe with an energy efficiency gain ranging from 10 to 15% compared to R-404A. CO₂ systems for display cases have also been introduced by several key suppliers.

The first conclusions that can be drawn for standalone equipment are as follows:

• 
  HFC-134a and R-404A will be phased-out progressively in developed countries. Due to multinational companies this phase-out is also beginning in developing countries. There are several low-GWP refrigerant options and hydrocarbons, CO₂ and new low-GWP HFC-based blends can be used depending on commercial availability.
  
• 
  Addition of glass doors and LED lighting to display cases can reduce the refrigeration load thus enabling the use of flammable refrigerants for these display cabinets within the allowable charge limits.
  
• 
  Minimum energy standards have been issued or updated in the last years in North America, in Europe and in many other countries, making a new competition between manufacturers in order to reach higher energy efficiency stand-alone systems; the CLASP report (Waide, 2014) estimates the possible gains for the different standalone-equipment types between 30 and 40% compared to the current average energy consumption.
  
• 
  Eco-labelling taking into account all impacts during the life cycle of product (see Chapter 11) will be soon issued for commercial refrigeration in Europe, energy consumption being the main criterion to be addressed in order to lower significantly the environmental impact of those equipment. In parallel, the amended F-gas regulation will affect refrigerant choices in this equipment.
  

4.3.2 Condensing unit systems

Condensing units comprises one or several compressors, an air-cooled condenser (usually), a receiver, and a liquid line to be connected to the refrigeration circuit. Condensing units are designed for several capacities and are standardized equipment. Condensing units are commonly used in commercial refrigeration worldwide and especially in developing countries; they are sold by OEMs to installers. The design is as generic as possible and the usual refrigerant is HCFC-22 in developing countries, HFC-134a, R-404A and, to a lesser extent, R-410A in developed countries. HFC-134a is chosen for small capacities and evaporation temperatures > -15°C. R-404A or R-410A are chosen for larger capacities for all temperature levels. HFCs form the energy efficiency references for benchmarking all other refrigerants.

Replacement HFC blends

For HCFC-22 replacement, a number of “intermediate” refrigerant blends are proposed, such as R-407A, R-407F, R-448A, and R-449A and others have not yet received their ASHRAE number. Their GWPs are ranging from about 1000 to 1700. They are designed to replace HCFC-22 or R-404A and are used either as retrofit refrigerants or in new equipment. All of them present temperature glides from 5 to 7 K which require special attention paid to the selection and operation of components.

A new set of low-GWP R-404A and HCFC-22 replacement refrigerant blends is also being introduced with GWPs ranging from less than 150 to 300; they are considered to be commercially available before the end of 2016. Some have been tested and results are available in (Schultz, 2013) showing a volumetric capacity either identical or in the range of ±5%, with a COP from 7 to 2% lower compared to HCFC-22. Many low-GWP HFC blends contain HFC-32 and HFC-1234yf and/or HFC-1234ze(E), and they are all low-flammable refrigerants classified as 2L in ASHRAE 34. For HCFC-22, HFC alternative-blend options that are proposed show performances close to the benchmark reference. The results indicate that soft optimization could lead to performances on the level of the baseline refrigerants. Nevertheless, equipment manufacturers have to take into account in the new equipment design that all these refrigerant blends have temperature glides varying from 4 to 7 K.

Ammonia

R-717 is not used much in these systems for cost and safety issues. However it is used in cascade systems with CO₂ in the low stage of the equipment.

CO₂

New carbon dioxide-based condensing units are sold in Northern Europe and Japan. The market penetration is low but increasing. R-744 condensing units require a double-stage design if high ambient temperatures occur frequently. Single-stage systems are designed for cold climates. The additional cost for a double-stage system is significant compared to usual HFC reference condensing units. The cost remains the main barrier for these R-744 condensing units in certain regions, but with increasing production capacities and financial incentives this barrier is expected to overcome soon.

Hydrocarbons

Several hundred indirect condensing units using HC-290 or HC-1270 are operating in Europe with typical refrigerant charges varying from 1 to 20 kg, most of them on the lower charge side, with good energy efficiency.

Direct expansion condensing units from 100 W to 10 kW (up to 1.4 kg charge) are commercially available from major manufacturers operating with HC-600a and HC-290, and for temperatures ranging from -40°C up to 0°C. Costs for these HC-based systems can be up to 15% higher than HFC systems due to safety measures required for flammability mitigation.

4.3.3 Centralized supermarket systems

Centralized systems are the preferred option in medium to large supermarkets, because they usually achieve better energy efficiency than plug-in cabinets and condensing units. This is mainly due to compressor efficiencies being higher for larger compressors (in the range of 60-70%) compared to smaller compressors (in the range of 40-50%) used in plug-in cabinets. The sales area of supermarkets with centralized refrigeration systems varies from 400 m² up to 20,000 m² for large supermarkets.

Generally, for large supermarkets, the reference design is a direct-expansion centralized system with several racks of compressors operating at the two evaporation temperature levels (-10 °C ± 4 K and -32 °C ± 4 K for example). Several refrigeration system designs exist for medium to large supermarkets; these designs have an impact on refrigerant choices, refrigerant inventories, and energy efficiency. Conventionally, they operate with racks of parallel piped compressors installed in a machinery room, typically using HCFC or HFC in direct expansion refrigeration systems. Typically the compound compressors operate with a common condenser which provides a number of different evaporators with liquid refrigerant. Places to be cooled by the system include refrigerated counters, refrigerated shelves, freezer islands, medium and low temperature storage rooms. Because all cabinets/evaporators are connected to all compressors in one compound system, HFC charges can be quite high – up to 3,000 kg for hypermarkets – with resulting high emissions in the case of component failure like pipe rupture, e.g. due to excessive vibration. In addition, the numerous joints of large systems are prone to frequent leakage (especially mechanical joints), hence such systems often have refrigerant leakage rates in the order of 15 % (Schwarz et al, 2011) or higher, typically 25%. In order to limit refrigerant emissions, some commercial companies have put significant effort in order to limit their annual emissions; some successes have been reported in Germany with reduction of annual emission rates lower than 10% (Kauffeld, 2013).

The different central multi-compressor refrigeration systems offered on the market can be categorized according to

• 
  the choice of refrigerant(s),
  
  • 
    HCFC or HFC
    
  • 
    Hydrocarbon (HC)
    
  • 
    Ammonia (R-717)
    
  • 
    Carbon dioxide (R-744)
    
• 
  the type of refrigerant distribution
  
  • 
    direct expansion or
    
  • 
    indirect via a heat transfer fluid (HTF) – the HTF can be single phase liquid (mainly used for MT), melting ice slurry (only MT) or evaporating carbon dioxide (MT and LT), and
    
• 
  the kind of cooling of the condenser/gas cooler
  
  • 
    Ambient air cooled; in hot climates sometimes with evaporation of water in order to reduce air temperature
    
  • 
    Water cooled; water cooling by ambient air
    
  • 
    Water based heat recovery; i.e. condenser is water cooled heating tap water or store
    
  • 
    Air based heat recovery; heating store room air directly.
    

Most systems have separate MT and LT systems, but especially systems working with R-744 combine MT and LT in one compound system. Due to safety and technology reasons, not all combinations make sense or are acceptable. For example ammonia by reason of its higher toxicity is excluded from the costumer area and it will therefore never be used in direct expansion systems in the sales area of a supermarket; but ammonia can be used safely as a high-efficiency refrigerant in an indirect supermarket refrigeration system, see below.

The evaporator of direct expansion systems is located in the application (i.e., within the cold room or cabinet). Condensers can be arranged in air-cooled machine rooms in the building or outside of the building. Heat recovered from the condenser can be used for room or tap water heating. Direct expansion systems are worldwide the dominating technology for supermarkets. The direct expansion centralized system is therefore often used as the reference for comparisons of energy performances and refrigerant charges.

The refrigerants for new systems are R-404A and R-744, especially in Europe. To a smaller extent HFC-134a is used for medium temperature applications, as well as R-507A in some countries, e.g. Norway. Direct expansion systems will always have refrigerant-carrying pipes and components inside of the sales area which the public may enter. Therefore, the refrigerant will normally be restricted to lower toxicity, non-flammable safety classification (i.e. class A1 according to EN-378).

For cost reasons and for technical simplicity, commercial centralized systems have usually been designed with a single compression stage even for the low-temperature level (-35°C to -38°C). Two design options, cascade and boosters systems, which are common in industrial refrigeration, have been introduced in commercial refrigeration in order to improve energy efficiency, see Figure 4-1 and 4-2. They can be used for all refrigerants, but the development has been especially made for R-744.

Figure 4-1: Cascade system	Figure 4-2: Booster system

Cascade systems

The cascade system, as shown in Figure 4-1 connects the low-temperature compressor rack to the medium-temperature level, via an evaporator-condenser where the heat released by the low-temperature rack is absorbed by the evaporation of the medium-temperature refrigerant. The refrigerants at the two levels of temperature can be either different or identical. In any case two-stage systems are more efficient than single-stage ones; the energy gain is typically of 15 to 20% and is more pronounced for high outdoor temperatures.

Booster systems

Another design, which is simpler and less costly, is also developed and installed now in commercial refrigeration: the booster system presented in Figure 4-2. The low-temperature compressor rack discharges its vapour directly in the suction line of the medium-temperature rack where it is mixed with the medium-temperature vapour. In this design, the refrigerant is the same for the low and medium-temperature levels. The booster system offers several levels of pressure by using a flash tank and several expansion valves. A first expansion valve EV1 expands the refrigerant in the flash tank at a first intermediate pressure; the vapour generated by this first expansion is directly sucked by the medium-temperature compressor rack, and the pressure of the expanded vapour leaving the flash tank is controlled at the medium evaporation pressure by EV2. For CO₂ this design presents a great advantage because above 31°C in the condenser, there is no more condensation and the condenser becomes a gas cooler. In the supercritical region, CO₂ is in dense gas phase at pressure around 90 bars and can be expanded in the flash tank at 40 bars for example, and so a part of the expanded CO₂ changes to liquid phase and feeds both the medium-temperature display-cases via the expansion valve TXV1 and the low-temperature display case via TXV2. For high outdoor temperatures, the booster system offers a efficiency gain for CO₂; however, energy loss for CO₂ systems due to supercritical operation can be overcome with additional design features like ejectors, parallel compression or subcoolers.

These two designs are now installed in several thousands of stores; cascade systems – with usually HFC-134a at the medium-temperature level – in large supermarkets and full CO₂ booster systems in larger to smaller ones. These stores are currently mostly found in Europe, but are increasing in adoption in the rest of the world.

Distributed systems

In the USA two designs coexist: the centralized and the distributed system. Distributed Systems consist of a number of compact compressor systems / condensing units with –typically - water-cooled condensers. The compressor systems are located in sound-proof boxes, which can be installed in the sales area. Water pipes running through the store remove the condenser heat. The design is compact and the refrigerant lines are short, which makes a gain in terms of reliability and limits the pressure losses. The refrigerant inventory of a distributed system is smaller by about 15% compared to a direct-expansion centralized system while the energy efficiency is in the same range.

R-404A is usually used as the refrigerant of choice although HFC-134a is also feasible for MT applications and HC-1270 is used in some water cooled condensing units (charge always below 1.5 kg). The central chiller can use any kind of refrigerant, many systems use HC-290 or R-404A.

Indirect Systems

Indirect systems include a secondary cycle which transports the heat by means of a heat transfer fluid (HTF) from the refrigerated cabinet to the evaporator of the primary refrigeration system which can be located in a secured machine room or in the open air, i.e. isolated with no public access, see Figure 4-3. During the last 20 years, indirect systems have been developed, mostly for the medium-temperature level, enabling a reduction of the refrigerant charge by at least 50%.

As shown in Figure 4-3, the low-temperature direct expansion system can release the condensation heat to the HTF secondary loop, leading to better energy efficiency of the low-temperature system and allowing also the use of CO₂ in subcritical operation at the low-temperature level. Some other designs are also possible where the condensation heat of the low-temperature system is directly released to the atmosphere

	.
Figure 4-3: Indirect system at the medium-temperature level and direct expansion at the low-temperature level

The use of HTF with phase change offers an energy saving potential: ice slurry for medium temperature or CO₂ for medium and low temperatures (Møller, 2003). Through the selection of the correct additive, ice slurry can also outperform a single-phase HTF (Hägg, 2005; Lagrabette, 2005).

Indirect systems make the primary refrigeration system design very compact. One can use prefabricated units and the assembly of systems can be simplified on site. Indirect systems allow also for providing more stable temperatures and increased humidity at the points of refrigeration (Rhiemeier et al., 2009). The pumping energy of heat transfer fluid, which can be significant, has to be compared with the additional energy consumption due to pressure losses of the long suction lines of direct expansion systems. In order to prevent the energy consumption increase, it is also important to select the appropriate HTF based on liquid viscosity and heat capacity. For indirect systems, the following characteristics have to be mentioned: all piping needs to be insulated; HTF leaks are also possible and difficult to diagnose.

Developing country aspects

In developing countries, supermarkets can be of very different sizes but also have a centralized machinery room as in developed countries; depending on the leadership of companies, one can find CO₂ cascade and booster systems in a country such as Brazil. It has to be taken into account that for cost reasons and ease of installation many small supermarkets and convenience stores in developing countries will be using condensing units.

Refrigerants and systems

HCFCs and HFCs

The dominant refrigerant for centralized systems in the developing countries is HCFC-22 while R-404A is common in developed countries. In Japan R-407C is commonly used, and some stores using R-404A have switched to R-410A in the last years. Now pure HFC-32 is beginning to be used at the medium-temperature level and CO₂ or HFC-32 are under evaluation for the low-temperature level. The flammability of HFC-32 makes it difficult to be used in large direct expansion systems outside of Japan. More recently, lower GWP R-404A alternatives like R-448A, R-449A are undergoing field trials and starting production while HFC-134a alternative blends like R-450A are also being evaluated. These and other similar lower GWP HFC blends are important as replacements for existing systems that use R-404A and HFC-134a.

HC-290 and HC-1270

Refrigerant changes have begun since the early 2000 in Europe, and especially in Germany, where propylene (HC-1270) has been introduced in supermarkets, using a secondary loop, HC-290 is now the preferred option. For all HCs, the machinery room is located outside of the store. The number of these HC-systems is limited.

Ammonia

Due to its toxicity, ammonia is confined in a ventilated machinery room and ammonia systems are always designed with secondary loops at each temperature level. Several large supermarkets operate with ammonia especially in Luxembourg and Switzerland. Ammonia can be used at the medium-temperature level, together with CO₂ at the low-temperature level.

CO₂ (R-744)

The real breakthroughs using CO₂ as refrigerant began around 2005 with two major new options: CO₂ as the only refrigerant in booster systems and CO₂ in cascade with HFCs or other refrigerants.

For using CO₂ as the only refrigerant in small, medium and large size supermarkets, CO₂ has been introduced in transcritical booster systems (Figure 4-2). The low-temperature rack operates at -33°C ± 3°C evaporation temperature. The medium-temperature rack operates at -9°C ± 3°C evaporation temperature. The heat dissipation occurs up to 30°C depending on the outdoor temperature, and above 27°C outdoor temperature, the operational mode becomes transcritical. Up to now, more than 3000 transcritical CO₂ systems are installed, mainly in Europe (95%) (Chasserot, 2014).

CO₂ systems operate also at the low-temperature level only. The condensation heat is released to the secondary loop, usually at -10°C temperature level as shown in the cascade system (Figure 4-1). The interest of keeping this low level of condensation temperature is to use usual copper tubing designed for maximum pressure of 3 MPa. The medium-temperature compressor rack works with HFC-134a or R-717, those systems are installed in about 2000 stores (Chasserot, 2013). In Brazil, due to the active policy of a European company, more than 50 stores are now operating with CO₂ cascade systems.

The energy efficiency of CO₂ systems is better than that of comparable HFC-systems at ambient temperatures below 22°C, about equal at temperatures between 22 and 26°C, and lower at higher ambient temperatures (Finckh et al, 2011). It should be noted that using electronic expansion valves and similar system enhancements used for CO₂ systems will also have beneficial effects on standard HFC systems. Installation of CO₂ systems has also begun in Asia, the Americas, and Australia. Shifting from HFCs to CO₂ can reduce the carbon footprint of supermarkets by 25% (EPA, 2010) but could be higher depending on the refrigerant leakage and energy recovery utilization

For moderate and cold climates it is an important option to recover heat from the refrigeration plant for heating purposes; e.g. for hot water heating and indoor air heating in the cold season. CO₂ systems are easily adapted to satisfy such demands. Considering the supermarket as an energy system for which energy use should be minimized may give considerable energy savings, e.g. 30% has been demonstrated (Hafner et al, 2014a).

With trials of new developments like booster systems, ejector systems, expander systems, parallel compression and systems with auxiliary mechanical sub-cooling, the efficiency of CO₂ systems may, in the future, be improved to the extent that such systems will be more energy efficient, even in warmer climates (Huff et al, 2012 and Hafner et al, 2014b).

Low-GWP HFCs and HFC blends for R-404A and HCFC-22 replacement

The AHRI/AREP Report # 21 (Shrestha, 2013) presents several low-GWP HFC blends (from 220 to 300) proposed to replace R-404A in condensing units that are the same as those proposed for centralized systems. The refrigeration capacities of these blends are slightly lower, energy efficiency slightly higher and temperature glides of 4 to 7 K are larger compared to R-404A. The consequence of the temperature glide is a possible distillation of the blend when a leak occurs. Servicing becomes more complex due to the composition change of the refrigerant blend due to the different boiling points of the individual components of the blend. Some contractors recommend the recovery of all the refrigerant remaining in the installation to make a full new charge at the right blend formulation. Such practice could add to running costs of systems due to the anticipated higher costs of low GWP HFCs and associated destruction costs of the remaining refrigerant.

Some of the low-GWP-HFC blends are designed to replace HCFC-22. For the tested blends, the cooling capacity is 2 to 7% lower and the efficiency is from 5 % lower to 10% better. Some of the blends formulated to replace R-404A are the same as those formulated to replace HCFC-22.

The results of the AHRI / AREP reports show that soft optimization of refrigeration systems using those blends may lead to the same level of performances. Three issues are still to be addressed: safety rules for low flammability refrigerants, servicing of refrigerant blends with possible distillation due to leaks and commercial availability.

A new set of low-GWP R-404A refrigerant blends is also being introduced with GWP less than 150.

Summary for centralized systems

In summary, for centralized systems a number of options are available and proven; some of them require a higher technical training of contractors especially for two-stage CO₂ systems.

The replacement of R-404A is underway and will lead to several families of technical options with either CO₂ at all temperature levels or low-GWP HFCs at the medium temperature operating in cascade with CO₂ at the low temperature. R-404A replacements that are non flammable and lower than 2000 GWP will grow in use both in existing and new systems. Low GWP and mildly flammable HFCs at all temperature levels will also be considered but flammability concerns might limit the types of systems due to the current standards.