Comparative Study on the Performance of R404A Commercial Refrigerator Retrofitted with R290 and R454C

R404A is widely used in light commercial equipment. However, the Kigali Amendment currently specifies the refrigerant replacement process. R454C and R290, owing to their low global warming potential values, have become promising refrigerants for use in commercial refrigerators. To compare the performances of these three refrigerants in commercial refrigerators, this study uses a climatic chamber to test four commercial refrigerators of different sizes. Four key parameters, namely the refrigerant charge, energy consumption, material cost, and carbon emissions, of the R404A, R454C, and R290 systems were compared. The results indicated that replacing R404A with R454C resulted in energy savings of approximately 5% and a reduction of approximately 15% in carbon emissions. When using R290, the charge was only 20.6%-34.3% of that of R404A, remaining within a safe range. Additionally, the charging cost was only half that of R404A. Furthermore, the system satisfied the performance requirements with this charge amount, leading to a reduction in energy consumption and carbon emissions within the ranges of 15%-35% and 25.3%-43.7%, respectively.