R404A Retrofit
R404A Retrofit – ICE have recently carried out the retrofitting of two refrigeration systems serving a critical pharmaceutical cold store in North Wales.
From 2020 there will be a ban on the use of refrigerants with a GWP of 2500 or more for service and maintenance of refrigeration equipment where the charge size is greater than 40 Tonnes CO2 equivalent (approximately 10kg of R404A) and the use of refrigerants with a GWP of 2500 or more in new stationary refrigeration equipment. There are exemptions for military applications and or systems intended to cool below ‐50°C product temperature.
Due to the above legislation, our client sought the advice of ICE when considering how to proceed with two refrigeration systems containing R404A. As R404A has a GWP of 3922 these systems would be affected by the above and it was decided to be proactive and act.
After lengthy discussions it was decided that retrofitting of the systems with an alternative refrigerant with a lower GWP was the preferred option.
The refrigerant we selected was R449A, this refrigerant has a GWP of 1397 much lower than R404A which has a GWP of 3922.
We carried out an initial visit to check over the systems and take base line readings which would confirm if the selected refrigerant was suitable. We then used the baseline readings taken to produce detailed running predications of the systems on the new R449A refrigerant.
Once the running predictions were produced we could see that we anticipated the systems to run more efficiently and without a decrease in performance.
The R404A refrigerant was recovered from the systems to recovery bottles and sent away for recycling.
The lubrication in the systems was replaced along with the filter driers. The systems were then pressure tested with OFN to ensure they were gas tight. Once confident that the systems were gas tight with no leaks, we evacuated to below 1.32 mbar (EN 378) using a vacuum pump and torr gauge.
We then re charged with the appropriate amounts of R449A refrigerant, weighing in and noting the charge for each system.
The systems were then recommissioned with commissioning records produced and the system performance was monitored.
The F-Gas Regulations now require that the type and amount of refrigerant within a system along with the GWP is and CO2 equivalent value to be recorded. The systems were labelled with all the required information using weatherproof labels. As the regulations move on it is likely that we are going to have many different types of refrigerants used, so labelling has never been more relevant.
This project was carried out whilst maintaining room conditions throughout as critical product could not be moved from the room.
Following the R404A retrofit, our client now has peace of mind that their systems are compliant before the legislation changes.
If you have a system that contains R404A and would like to discuss the options available then contact ICE Ltd by calling 01928 568800 or fill in our online form.
Guidance on the future of R404a and F Gas Regulations can be found here.
