Kitted out
With R22 refrigerant in air conditioning systems due to be phased
out, should specifiers be looking at wholesale replacement of kit or
refurbishment? Ian Vallely asks some manufacturers for their views
A
n important milestone in the phase-out and increased by around 15 per cent in power input.
of R22 refrigerants in air conditioning So you might be looking at a CoP in the low twos – and
systems was reached at the beginning that is only going to diminish.’
of this year, when the use of virgin R22 There are three ways to move away from R22, says
refrigerant for topping up air conditioning systems Graham Wright of Sanyo Air Conditioners: ‘You can
was banned. This was one more step along the road replace the whole installation with a new system; use a
towards a complete ban on R22 in 2013. non-standard refrigerant to replace the R22 within the
Nonetheless, currently there remain a significant system; or re-use the existing pipework – and possibly
number of R22-based aircon systems in buildings. wiring – and install new indoor and outdoor units that
Estimates vary, but there may be between 60,000 and operate on a more up-to-date HFC refrigerant.’
100,000 such systems in the UK. Retrofitting with an alternative refrigerant overcomes
Those running R22-based systems can expect the need to remove old equipment and install new
costs to rise, according to Toshiba Air Conditioning’s systems and pipework. However, it may be difficult
commercial director David Dunn. He says: ‘When a to predict actual system performance and reliability
commodity is in low demand, the costs are guaranteed following retrofit, and there may be a question
to increase. The cost of R22 refrigerant is expected to mark over how long the system will last. Alternative
quadruple in price year-on-year.’ refrigerants can also be expensive.
The cost of
As well as the expected price hikes, there are also Making use of existing pipework and wiring – and
R22 refrigerant
good technological reasons to replace R22-based replacing indoor and outdoor units – is now a viable
systems sooner rather than later. Mark Grayston, and cost-effective alternative, according to Wright: ‘It
is expected to
product marketing executive at Mitsubishi Electric, also allows installers to fit the latest high-performance
quadruple in
says: ‘When it was installed, a 10-year-old R22 system units, benefiting from government grants and
price, year
might have had a coefficient of performance (CoP) of delivering lower running costs for end users.’
2.6 across the whole system. Using this approach, the R22 is typically replaced by
on year –
‘We estimate that, over 10 years, the system would R410A-based systems. These offer distinct advantages,
David Dunn
typically have dropped by about 15 per cent in capacity Dunn explains: ‘R410A offers a heat transfer rate that
48 CIBSE Journal March 2010
www.cibsejournal.com
CIBSEmar10 pp48-49 Refrigeration.indd 48 25/2/10 16:11:35
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