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^Rigeration
Refrigerant Leak Prevention through Regular Maintenance
Food retail stores can save money and reduce environmental impacts by
ensuring that commercial refrigeration equipment is properly maintained. A
typical food retail store leaks an estimated 25% of refrigerant, or approximately
1,000 pounds, annually. In addition to being costly, leaks have significant impacts
on the environment, because most refrigerants are greenhouse gases and some
are also ozone-depleting substances. This fact sheet provides information on
the benefits of performing regular maintenance to reduce the likelihood of, and
quickly remediate, refrigerant leaks in food retail stores.
Why is Regular Preventive Maintenance Important?
Leaks are expensive
Performing regular preventive maintenance saves money because preventing
refrigerant leaks is always less expensive than repairing them. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency estimates that if every food retail store in the
country reduced its refrigeration system's leak rate to the GreenChill Partner
average, the industry would save approximately $108 million every year on
reduced refrigerant costs. GreenChill's Financial Impact Calculator gives food
retailers a customizable tool to calculate the amount of product (e.g., gallons of
milk) they need to sell to pay the replacement cost of the refrigerant they leak.
See the text box for more information.
Leaks harm the ozone layer, contribute to climate change, or both
Most commercial refrigeration systems in the United States use
hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) or hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants.
When leaked, HCFC refrigerants contribute to ozone depletion. In addition,
these refrigerants are very potent greenhouse gases. While HFC refrigerants do
not contribute to ozone depletion, they often have greater impacts on climate
change than HCFCs. For reference, emitting one pound of the most commonly
used HFC refrigerant has the same climate change effects as emitting nearly
4,000 pounds of carbon dioxide.
Waiting until leaks become a problem before addressing them only makes
the problem bigger
Leaks in refrigeration equipment will increase in size if left unaddressed. The
larger the size of the leak, the more refrigerant is wasted. Regular preventive
maintenance measures help ensure that leaks are caught and addressed while
they are still small.
Equivalent Costs for a
Typical Refrigerant Leak
Question: How many
gallons of milk do you have
to sell to pay the refrigerant
replacement cost of a
100-pound leak?
Answer: For a typical store,
the answer is more than
19,000 gallons.
GreenChill's Financial
Impact Calculator
gives food retailers a
customizable tool to
calculate the amount of
product they need to sell to
pay the replacement cost
of the refrigerant they leak.
You can specify the product
type, profit margins, price
of refrigerant, etc. to
generate store-specific
numbers. You can generate
these numbers for a
specific leak instance, a
store's total annual leaks,
or all the annual leaks
across your corporation.
Source: www2.epa.gov/
sites/production/files/
greenchill/downloads/
FinanciallmpactCalculator.xls

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GreenChill Resources
Leak Prevention and Repair
Guideline
This guideline provides food
retailers with information on
best practices for reducing
refrigerant leaks from commercial
refrigeration systems.
www2.epa.gov/sites/
production/files/ documents/
leakpreventionrepairguidelines.pdf
Best Practices for Ensuring
Leak-Tight Installations
This guideline describes a process
for testing a refrigeration system
for leaks immediately after
installation.
www2.epa.gov/sites/
production/files/documents/
leakpreventionrepairguidelines.pdf
Best Practices Guideline for
Commercial Refrigeration
Retrofits
This guideline provides information
on best practices—including leak
tightness improvements—for
retrofitting HCFC-22 refrigeration
systems to use HFC substitutes.
www2.epa.gov/sites/production/
files/ documents/retrofit_
guideline_august_2011 .pdf
Financial Impact Calculator
The Financial Impact Calculator
gives food retailers a customizable
tool to calculate the amount of
product (e.g., gallons of milk) they
need to sell to pay the replacement
cost of the refrigerant they leak.
www2.epa.gov/sites/production/
files/ greenchill/downloads/
FinanciallmpactCalculator.xls
Regular preventive maintenance can help reduce other costs associated
with equipment operation
Equipment wear and tear reduces energy efficiency. A system that is low on
refrigerant must work harder to control desired food temperatures. In addition,
there is a greater chance of compressor burnout when equipment is not
regularly inspected. Servicing or replacing poorly maintained equipment is
expensive and can result in increased impacts on the environment (e.g., due
to refrigerant leaks during system repair). Regularly cleaning and inspecting
refrigeration equipment helps reduce wear and tear and ensures energy-
efficient operation.
GreenChill Leak Prevention Maintenance Checklist
This checklist identifies several maintenance measures that can help prevent
leaks in commercial refrigeration systems.
~	Identify and log the refrigerant level of the receiver of each rack. A drop in the receiver level
from a previous reading may indicate a leak in the system.
~	Visually check the compressor racks, piping, and valves in the mechanical room for any
oil seepage. If oil seepage is observed, use soap bubbles or an electronic leak detector to
identify any refrigerant leak and pinpoint the exact location.
~	Check the control line temperature of all high-pressure switches at a point that is about 12
inches from the compressor connection. If the temperature is above the mechanical room
ambient temperature, it may indicate a leak in the control line, fitting, or control bellows.
~	Check the pressure relief valves of each system for refrigerant release. Each relief valve
should have a balloon, blow-off cap, or other telltale way to signal that a relief valve has
discharged.
~	Visually check all air-cooled condensers for oil seepage underneath the unit and on finned
coil surfaces.
~	Check condenser fan blades for cracking or tearing of the metal, especially at the point
where the fan blade is riveted to the hub.
~	Check for imbalance in the condenser fan blades and wear in the motor mounts/bolts.
Excess vibration in the blades can result in motor mount failure. This can cause the spinning
motor to drop and tear the tube sheet, resulting in a high-pressure leak.
~	Visually check piping and fittings to ensure that there is no pipe chafing and no excessive
stress on piping or fittings from thermal or mechanical pipe movement during operation.
~	Work with equipment suppliers to verify that equipment is leak-tight when it leaves the
factory, and provide feedback to suppliers if leaks are found in factory-built equipment or
subsystems.
~	If permanent leak detectors are installed, ensure their proper function.
~	Using an electronic leak detector at its most sensitive setting:
•	Slowly move the probe over all mechanical room components.
•	Walk through the sales area of the store and the entire length of the discharge air
stream of each refrigerated case.
•	Check each walk-in cooler, freezer, and refrigerated prep area in the store.
•	Check subsurface refrigeration access pits, starting with riser pits.
•	Check accessible overhead refrigeration lines by following the path of the lines.
This checklist is based on a more detailed list of preventive maintenance measures
presented in the GreenChill Leak Prevention and Repair Guideline and input from
GreenChill Partners.

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Other Maintenance Measures Can Help Reduce Impacts on the
Environment
This checklist identifies several other maintenance measures that supermarkets can take to help
ensure that refrigeration systems are operating efficiently and to reduce wear and tear over time.
Efficient refrigeration systems help reduce impacts on the environment by reducing the amount of
energy they need to operate. Combining these measures with the leak prevention measures identified
above can result in greater environmental and cost-saving benefits overall.
~	Clean evaporator and condensing coils regularly to avoid dust and dirt accumulation.
~	Clean motor and fan blades with a soft cloth.
~	Check the amperage of motors and compressors.
~	Review thermostat settings and calibrate if needed.
~	Clear away weeds and debris from outdoor condensing units.
~	Check motor oil levels in compressors monthly.
~	Lubricate motor bearings annually.
~	Check relays and contactors quarterly.
~	Test controls and safety switches to ensure proper functioning.
~	Check refrigerant lines for insulation decay, especially from the condensing unit and the evaporator coils;
replace as needed.
~	Hire a professional to inspect electrical connections annually.
This checklist is based on a list of preventive maintenance measures developed by GreenChill Partner Kysor/Warren.
EPA's GreenChill 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 and environmental best 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 environmental commitments and achievements.
For additional information on the GreenChill Partnership, please contact GreenChill@epa.gov, or
Tom Land at (202) 343-9185.

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