A2Ls or R-290? Understanding the Tradeoffs

This is mostly commercial refrigeration news, about the coolers and freezers used in grocery stores and food retailers, not home HVAC equipment. But it's worth knowing for anyone tracking the industry's move away from older refrigerants with high global warming potential (GWP). Two families of flammable refrigerants are becoming common in store equipment: A2Ls, a group of newer refrigerant blends, and R-290, which is propane.

The two work differently. R-290 has a GWP of just 3, making it about as climate-friendly as refrigerants get, and it's used mainly in small, factory-sealed units like reach-in coolers, ice machines, and ice cream freezers, more than 5 million of which are already installed in North America. Because these units are sealed at the factory with a small refrigerant charge, they need little special safety equipment and are largely plug-and-play. A2L refrigerants have higher GWP than propane but still much lower than older refrigerants, and they can be used at higher charge amounts, so they show up in a wider range of equipment, from display cases up to large centralized systems in bigger stores. A2L systems need extra safety features like leak detectors and shut-off valves, and technicians who service them need specific training and tools.

For a homeowner, none of this changes your furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump. It reflects how the same shift toward lower-GWP refrigerants playing out in home HVAC is also reshaping the equipment behind the glass doors at your grocery store.