REFRIGERANTS
more years of effective life remaining can use Honeywell Solstice N40 (R-448A) as a retrofit solution. This lower GWP product can be used to replace R-404A refrigerant, which is being phased out, with limited re-engineering. This enables the extension of life of the equipment with a fully compliant F-Gas solution. Refrigeration systems have an important
role to play in achieving critical climate goals. As such, the industry has been preparing for this phase down for several years. As service volumes for HFCs begin decreasing, customers and contractors need to be prepared with retrofitting and new installations. By continuing to keep old refrigeration systems, companies risk not being in compliance with current regulations in place to phase down HFCs, such as those established F-Gas regulations in the UK and the EU stemming from the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Using Honeywell Solstice products has helped avoid the potential release of the equivalent of more than 295 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2
) into the atmosphere, comparable
to eliminating emissions of more than 62 million cars.
Such a reduction in CO2 emissions as
this shows there is much to be gained by transitioning to newer refrigeration systems — not just for legislative requirements and the environment, but for the lifetime cost savings for businesses as well.
With increasing pressure to lower the environmental impact of refrigerants, how will they realistically develop over the next few years?
Efficiency in all aspects will be key in the refrigerant market, and as technology takes over so many facets of our industries, heating and cooling are no exceptions. Heat pumps are quickly becoming an
innovative solution to the traditional gas boiler heating system that so many people across Europe have relied on for generations. Heat pumps can provide comfortable, year-round heating and cooling that is reliable and energy- efficient, but an important and often overlooked aspect of a heat pumps’ energy efficiency is the refrigerant that they run on, such as low-GWP HFOs.
Compared to alternative refrigerant technologies such as ammonia, hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide, HFOs are significantly more energy efficient, offer lower total cost of ownership, and are safer. The need to transition to clean heat has only intensified following the European Commission’s
recently published REPowerEU Plan which, among other things, specifically calls for the doubling of heat pump installations every year, with the goal of completing an initial 10 million deployments by 2027. Heat pumps which incorporate low-GWP HFO refrigerant technology will increasingly become a popular and important choice for heat deployments across Europe in order to achieve this goal.
How will F-gas phase downs affect the UK market? Honeywell has always supported the F-Gas Regulation and we view it as an essential tool to
Download the ACR News app today
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by containing and phasing down the use of high-GWP HFCs. With refrigerant use only set to increase with the roll out of heat pumps and increase in industrial cooling installations, for everything from cold storage of food to cooling of data centres, we need to encourage and promote refrigerant technologies that have the capacity to further innovate and that are energy efficient and have a low climate impact.
The UK authorities are currently reviewing the Great Britain F-Gas Regulation and the industry awaits their proposals.
www.acr-news.com • April 2023 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
