ST. LOUIS — Emerson announced it is in the process of qualifying R-407A, R-448A, and R-449A as approved alternative refrigerants compatible for use in Copeland Hermetic CS line of compressors. As the adoption of lower-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants becomes more popular, the approval of these refrigerants as replacement options grants customers the ability to update their systems and meet sustainability initiatives. R-407A will be officially approved for use as an alternative refrigerant in December of 2018, with R-448A and R-449A being available in Q1 of 2019.
“The refrigeration industry continues to evolve, and we’re working to enable our customers the most seamless means to evolve with it,” said Varun Garg, manager of product management, Emerson. “As lower-GWP refrigerants continue to gain traction, we’ll continue to innovate our products for customers, allowing them to incorporate these refrigerants without having to completely overhaul their systems.”
As higher-GWP refrigerants continue to be phased out, the evaluation and approval of alternative low-GWP refrigerants increase in importance. Although R-407A, R-448A, and R-449A are not considered a drop-in replacement and may require careful system redesigns to eliminate the possibility of damaging the compressor, its approval for use in the Copeland Hermetic CS line of compressors grants customers more flexibility when determining replacement options to meet external regulatory requirements as well as internal sustainability initiatives.
Copeland Hermetic CS compressors are generally used for self-contained and remote walk-in applications along with ice, soft serve and frozen carbonated beverage applications. Using approved alternative refrigerants in the CS compressors would require no new compressor platform switchover and satisfies lower-GWP regulatory needs. Copeland Hermetic CS compressors will be approved for medium temperature applications. Emerson recommends following the application guidelines as listed in the application engineering bulletin to be available upon the launch of these refrigerants.
The approval of R-407A, R-448A, and R-449A for use in the Copeland Hermetic CS line of compressors also allows customers to better meet the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB), among others. Emerson will continue to innovate and pursue these lower-GWP alternatives to meet customers’ diverse application requirements, regardless of regulatory rulings.
Emerson has already qualified Copeland Scroll to be used with R-407A, R-448A and R-449A refrigerants as a high efficiency low GWP alternative.
Publication date: 10/29/2018
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