R448A

R448A was developed by Honeywell as a lower GWP alternative to R404A, also referred to under its trade name Solstice® N40.

R404A has been prominently used in supermarket and commercial refrigeration applications.

Due to the high Global Warming Potential of R404A (GWP 3,922) we can no longer continue to use R404A.

R448A has a significantly lower GWP (1,387) than R404A and has been classified by Ashrae as A1 non-flammable and is suitable for retrofitting existing R404A systems.

R448A is a 5-component blend consisting of R32, R125, R134a and the HFO’s R1234ze and R1234yf.

Applications for R448A include Low to medium temperature commercial direct expansion refrigeration such as supermarkets, convenience stores, cold stores, display cases as well as coolers, freezers and self-contained condensing units and has been developed for new as well as existing equipment.

With very similar properties to R404A Honeywell have also reported a 5-15% drop in energy consumption vs R404A along with increased capacity.

Honeywell have stated that R448A is the lowest GWP non-flammable alternative to R404A with the best overall performance in both medium and low temperature applications when compared with other alternatives.

Honeywell also state that whilst having the same temperature glide as R449A - R448A has showed better capacity when tested using Bitzer software.

Tests have also shown that due to its lower discharge temperature R448A does not require liquid injection in low temperature applications when compared to other alternatives like R407A and R407F.

When looking at GWP values long term sustainable low GWP replacements need to have a GWP no higher than around 300 and ideally below 150.

Although the GWP of R448A is only a third of R404A it is still regarded as low to medium and so is not considered a long-term replacement.