The conversion of more than 1,200 stores will take place over the next three years, with the first 60 stores already converted.
Singapore – Honeywell, a Fortune 100 software-industrial company announced that Tesco, a supermarket chain, is converting more than 1,200 stores across the United Kingdom to Honeywell’s Solstice® N40 refrigerant in order to meet its carbon reduction commitments. The conversion will take place over the next three years, with the first 60 stores already converted.
In November 2015, Tesco committed to the parties of the United Nations Climate Change conference in Paris(COP21) to carbon reduction from refrigeration systems. Part of its strategy is to switch to Honeywell’s Solstice N40 from R-404A, which it uses today. By converting 1,200 stores to Solstice N40—and utilizing the lower global-warming-potential (GWP) of the new refrigerant—Tesco can lower its carbon footprint by up to 40 percent, which is equivalent to removing 70,000 cars from the road over the next three years.
“We set aggressive sustainability goals and we are committed to achieving them without impacting our customers,” said Matthew Reeves-Smith, group head of refrigeration & HVAC, Tesco. “We sought the best technology to convert 1,200 stores in three years and found our solution in Solstice N40. This refrigerant meets all our key criteria including energy efficiency, system performance and maintenance. The fact that it is a near drop-in replacement for our current refrigerant helps ensure a smooth, ongoing conversion process over the next three years.”
The success of the Tesco conversion project requires a close collaboration between Honeywell and its partners. A-Gas, a major distributor of Honeywell refrigerants for the U.K., provides a reclaim and testing facility. Climate Center provides national delivery and collection of new and reclaimed refrigerants, while Carter Synergy and Space Engineering provides the expertise for the actual conversions.