Honeywell Debuts Eco-Friendlier Refrigerant for Grocery Settings
As demand for sustainable store features continues to grow, tech company Honeywell has introduced another new refrigerant designed for the grocery industry. The low-global-warming-potential (GWP) refrigerant, Solstice N71, is a nonflammable, energy-efficient solution with a GWP of less than 150.
The next-generation refrigerant, following the launch of Honeywell’s Solstice N40, was created to help grocers meet increasingly stringent regulations aimed at lowering greenhouse-gas emissions and reaching carbon-neutral benchmarks. The state of California, for example, restricts the use of refrigerants with a GWP greater than 150 in new systems. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is weighing similar national regulations that could go into effect as early as 2024.
From an efficiency standpoint, the Solstice N71 has been shown to reduce energy usage by 13% compared with R-404A systems and by 30% stacked up against traditional CO2 systems. The refrigerant is optimal for medium-temperature applications.
"The supermarket industry, along with countless other sectors, continues to face evolving regulations that make maintaining performance and sustainability challenging," said John Keating, VP and general manager of Honeywell's stationary refrigerants business. "We anticipated this latest transition for refrigerants, and we are proud to introduce an innovative, next-generation solution the industry was missing. Solstice N71 is a groundbreaking refrigerant that provides grocers with a solution that is both reduced-GWP and operationally safe, enabling our customers to reduce their carbon footprint and comply with new regulations."
According to information from Charlotte, N.C.-based Honeywell, the global adoption of Solstice products has avoided the potential release of more than 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
