Honeywell has announced that its new low-global-warming-potential supermarket refrigerant has successfully completed trials with ASDA.

The extensive 14-month trial showed that Honeywell’s Solstice N40 refrigerant, also known as R-448A, produced system energy savings of more than 10 per cent while reducing carbon-equivalent emissions by 65 per cent, compared to R-404A, a hydrocarbon (HFC) refrigerant that is being phased out under European regulations.

The trial indicated that only minimal adjustments were needed to adapt the Solstice N40 in existing R404A systems and that operating conditions such as discharge temperatures were well within the strict demands of compressor manufacturers.

Brian Churchyard, senior manager – construction, model and lifecycle at ASDA said: “The ASDA trials proved to us that Honeywell’s new refrigerant can help us save money on energy while also reducing ASDA’s carbon footprint. This is another step towards improved environmental sustainability in our business.”

Solstice N40 is a non-flammable, non-ozone-depleting hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) blend for low and medium-temperature refrigeration equipment including supermarket chillers, frozen food cases, cold rooms and blast freezers. It is designed to replace R-22, R-507 and R-404A for both new equipment and retrofits, and provides a global warming potential (GWP) of 1387, which is 65 per cent lower than R-404A.