CHILLERS
with legislative requirements, but innovation is necessary to evolve and remain competitive. Manufacturers are continually looking to exceed requirements and offer lasting value to differentiate themselves. By offering better solutions for their customers, who are always looking for ways in which their selections can function more efficiently, the market is seeing great strides in products that consume less energy, are much quieter, offer greater redundancy and can be serviced more easily. Although these features and more are steering the market, one of the most dynamic influencers is probably refrigerants, which are never far from the spotlight.
Lower GWP refrigerants
The F-Gas regulations are driving the industry to use much lower GWP refrigerants and with the ban on HFC refrigerants with a GWP over 2500 less than two years away, the race is on to move to alternatives. Many businesses are migrating to HFOs or natural refrigerants like hydrocarbons (propane R-290, carbon dioxide CO2). As many of the HFO products exhibit lower flammability, ASHRAE introduced a new classification, A2L, and it is these refrigerants that
could have a real impact on the industry. No refrigerant is future-proof and there is no ‘one size fits all’, but R454B can offer a good replacement in many cases for the high GWP gas, R410a. Other A2L refrigerants include R1234yf and R1234ze, which can only be used in systems designed to take account of their flammability and cannot simply be used as ‘drop-ins’. Some manufacturers argue that there is a degree of scaremongering surrounding A2L refrigerants and that if handled appropriately and vented correctly, they can offer many benefits. ASHRAE rates A2L refrigerants as having low flammability but the HSE regards them as flammable and has strict guideline under the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) which covers their use, storage and transportation. It is also essential that only leak detectors that are designated as safe for use with A2L refrigerants are used. Other A2L refrigerants include R454A (XL40, R454C (XL20), R455A (L40X), R447A (L41) and R452B (XL55). Some large chiller applications are using R1234ze as an alternative to R134a and there are a number of A2L HFO blends being trialled. A2L refrigerants have a lot of potential; their low GWP and reduced Total Environmental
Warming Impact (TEWI) are attractive and they will have a significant part to play. With so many changes taking place in the industry, it can be challenging for customers to know what to buy. The only guarantee is that the chiller industry will continue to improve energy efficiencies, deliver more cooling capacity, lower noise ratings and offer better and more flexible solutions, and that customers are going to benefit.
A-Gas
www.acr-news.com
August 2018 21
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