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Prioritizing Leak Tightness During
Commercial Refrigeration  Retrofits
GREENCHILL
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 To meet our obligations under the Montreal Protocol, the United States is phasing
 out production of hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22 (HCFC-22), an ozone-depleting
 substance. Many food retailers are adapting to future HCFC-22 supply constraints by transitioning away from this
 refrigerant. Retrofitting HCFC-22-based commercial  refrigeration systems to use substitute refrigerants is one
 transition option. Because most of these substitute refrigerants are potent greenhouse gases, it is important that
 food retailers use the retrofitting process as an opportunity to tighten system leaks.

 Benefits of Prioritizing Leak Tightness
    • Cost savings: A typical supermarket's refrigeration system holds a refrigerant charge of about
      4,000 pounds and has an average annual leak rate of about 25%. Thus, on average, leaks cause a
      supermarket to emit approximately 1 ,000 pounds of refrigerant every year. Losing large quantities of
      refrigerant through  leaks is expensive because of the need to replace the lost refrigerant.  Tightening leaks
      can therefore produce cost savings. If every supermarket in the country joined GreenChill and reduced
      refrigerant emissions to the current GreenChill average, the industry would save an estimated $108 million
      annually.
    • Reduced impact on the environment: Although hydrofluorocarbons (MFCs), the key substitutes, are not
      ozone-depleting substances, they are potent greenhouse gases, which can contribute to climate change
      when emitted. In order to achieve environmental benefits for both climate change and the ozone layer, it is
      critical to ensure leak tightness when retrofitting.

 Information Resources for Tightening Leaks
 Food retailers can obtain  information  on best practices for ensuring leak tightness during refrigeration system
 retrofits from several sources:
    • EPA's GreenChill Best Practices Guideline for Commercial Refrigeration  Retrofits, a peer-reviewed
      guideline that provides best practices for retrofitting refrigeration systems that use HCFC-22 to HFC
      substitute refrigerants. This guideline, which was co-authored by experts from several GreenChill Partner
      companies (including Arkema, DuPont, Honeywell, and INEOS Fluor) and the EPA, includes a list of system
      conversion procedures that a typical food retailer would likely undertake to retrofit equipment that was
      originally designed  to use HCFC-22. Throughout this list of procedures, EPA identifies environmental best
      practices to ensure leak tightness. Appendix 2 of the guideline has conversion checklists for specific HFC
      substitute chemicals that also identify opportunities for verifying leak tightness.
      More information on the contents of this guideline is available on the reverse side of this fact sheet. The full
      guideline is available atwww.epa.gov/greenchill/downloads/RetrofitGuidelines.pdf.
    • EPA recently hosted a Webinar on Environmental Best Practices for Retrofits. The Webinar included
      presentations from  representatives from four food retailers describing their experiences in retrofitting
      their stores' refrigeration systems with ones that use HFCs, including measures they took to ensure leak
      tightness throughout the process. Presentation materials from this Webinar and others are available at
      www.epa.gov/greenchill/events.html under "Past Event Information."

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      GreenChill Best Practices Guideline
      Commercial Refrigeration Retrofits
      U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
      Stratospheric Protection Division
         GreenChill Partners
             Food Retailers
  ACME Markets
    Albertsons
Intermountain West
 Albertsons/Lucky
Southern California
  Bel Air Markets
      Bigg's
      Bloom
  Bottom Dollar
    Cub Foods
Farm Fresh Food &
    Pharmacy
    Food  Lion
   Food Source
   Fresh & Easy
    Giant Eagle
    Hannaford
   Harris Teeter
     Harvey's
  Hornbacher's
     Jewel/Osco
     King Kullen
        King's
        Mr.Z's
    Nob Hill Foods
    Organic Valley
    Price Chopper
        Publix
       Ra ley's
        Reid's
 Shaw's/Star Markets
 Shop 'n Save, St. Louis
   Shoppers Food &
      Pharmacy
Sprouts Farmers Market
    Supervalu Inc.
      Sweetbay
    Weis Markets
     Whole Foods
    Wild by Nature
    Advanced Refrigeration Technology
             Manufacturers
   Hill Phoenix         Kysor Warren
    Hussmann
      Zero Zone
         Chemical Manufacturers
     Arkema             Honeywell
  Dow Chemical          Ineos Fluor
                DuPont
EPA's GreenChill Best Practices Guideline for
Commercial Refrigeration Retrofits
EPA developed this guideline to offer fact-based, objective
information on best practices for retrofitting refrigeration systems
that use HCFC-22 to HFC substitute refrigerants. The document
can assist a wide range of stakeholders in the food retail industry,
including strategic decision-makers, store managers, and
technicians involved in the conversion process.
The guideline includes the following information:
    • Reasons to consider retrofitting refrigeration equipment that
      uses HCFC-22.
    • Descriptions  of HFC retrofit options currently available to food
      retailers.
    • Descriptions  of factors that should be considered when
      assessing substitute chemicals.
    • Current best  practices fortransitioning to HFC substitutes and
      improving leak tightness.
    • Recovery techniques and disposal and reclamation options for
      HCFC-22.
    • Case studies that describe real-life examples of retrofits in the
      field.
The guideline is available at
www.epa.gov/greenchill/downloads/RetrofitGuidelines.pdf.
EPA's GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership
The GreenChill Partnership is made up of industry leaders in
green refrigeration  technology and environmental stewardship.
GreenChill is a cooperative alliance with the supermarket industry to
support and promote green technologies, strategies, and practices
that protect the ozone layer, reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
and save money. GreenChill Partners in the food retail industry
have refrigerant emissions rates nearly 50% lower than the EPA-
estimated industry  average.
The GreenChill Partnership researches advanced technology
and servicing practices and  provides Partners with tools  that can
be used to attain corporate environmental goals. Partners also
benefit from the opportunity to share information on environmental
best practices and  increased publicity for their commitments to their
environmental goals.
For additional information on the GreenChill Partnership, please
contact:
Keilly Witman at (202) 343-9742 witman.keilly@epa.gov

                                               www.epa.gov/greenchill





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