Honeywell announced that SevenEleven will be Japan’s first leading retail chain to adopt its nextgeneration Solstice N40 (R-448A) refrigerant as a lower global-warmingpotential (GWP) alternative to the older R-404A refrigerant, which has an impact on global warming that is more than 3,900 times that of carbon dioxide.
Seven-Eleven is adopting Solstice N40, which offers a 65 per cent reduction in global warming potential compared with R-404A to comply with strict GWP reduction targets set for the Japanese food retail industry. Seven-Eleven has begun installing the environmentally preferable Honeywell refrigerant in condensing units (manufactured by Hitachi-Johnson Controls Air Conditioning and distributed by Hitachi Appliances) at all new and renovating stores across the country.
Industry leaders, Seven-Eleven Japan (operator of Seven-Eleven convenience stores), Hitachi Appliances, Hitachi Johnson Controls Air Conditioning and Honeywell conducted a series of trials before selecting Solstice N40. A full year of data showed Solstice N40 led to 20 percent energy savings in the Hitachi condensing units compared to R-404A.
“The trial results confirmed that Solstice N40 is an effective solution for our large estate of convenience stores in Japan to achieve our goals in reducing both overall carbon footprint and operating costs,” said Hisashi Ohashi, Head of Construction and Equipment Department, Director and Executive Officer, Seven-Eleven Japan.
Solstice N40 is a class A1 (nonflammable) refrigerant by ASHRAE 34 and is classified as Inert Gas in Japan. With GWP of 1387 (IPCC, AR4) that is 65 percent lower than R-404A, it is also non-ozone-depleting and available for retrofits. Additionally, Solstice N40 is designed as a near drop-in alternative to R-404A, requiring only minimal system adjustments.
