The year 2010 means the elimination of HCFC-22 in equipment design and a reduction in the production of R-22 to 65 percent of 1989 levels. Even as the 2010 date nears, segments of the industry are seeing rising costs of the refrigerant and complex recordkeeping requirements. The supermarket sector is sitting on a lot of R-22 equipment, much of it generated in those years between the phaseout of CFCs such as R-12 and -502 in supermarket refrigeration, and the introduction of HFCs such as R-404A and -507.
Supermarket owners whose systems run on R-22 for medium- and low-temperature applications are looking at alternatives. If a decision is made not to replace the HCFC system with HFC-based equipment, the alternative is to retrofit.