REFRIGERANTS
New era of low carbon cooling takes shape
David Dunn, managing director for sales, TCUK looks at product evolution within the landscape of F-Gas legislation.
R
ecent advances in air conditioning technology and refrigerants are ushering in a new era. It is being driven partly by the industry’s voluntary response to the challenges of environmental protection, and partly by the mandatory requirements of new legislation, particularly in relation to high global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants.
On the legislative front, the UK government has made clear that when the UK leaves the EU, either with or without a negotiated agreement, almost all the requirements of the European F-Gas Regulations will remain in place under UK law. This includes the need for installers and service operators to comply with refrigerant handling requirements, in terms of training and certification, and for end users to carry out leak testing on equipment covered by the regulations. Importantly, it also covers the phase down of high GWP refrigerants, with all the attendant implications we are familiar with for the industry. The principle underlying the F-Gas framework is to progressively phase down the amount of high GWP refrigerant available on the market. In the refrigeration sector, for example, this has big implications for the commonly-used refrigerant R404A, which is being targeted as a priority due to its high GWP of 3922.
From 01 January 2020, use of F-Gases with a GWP greater than 2500 for servicing equipment will be banned for systems containing more than 40 tonnes CO2
equivalent. This equates to
a charge of just 10.2kg of R404A, which helps explain how far-reaching this change is – and will be – for the refrigeration industry. Recycled or reclaimed refrigerants can be used until 2030, but supplies are likely to be in very short supply. In the air conditioning sector, the refrigerant used for many years in splits and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems, R410A, has a lower GWP of 2088. However, as we are all aware, it is still very much on borrowed time. Use of R410A in single split systems containing less than 3kg of refrigerant will be banned from 2025. This sounds like a reasonably long way off, but under the phase-down the F-Gas cap will
reduce supplies to 45% of the baseline by 2021. Given its relatively high GWP, this means R401A will account for a significant portion of suppliers’ F-Gas quotas.
This is one reason the air conditioning industry has moved swiftly to find lower GWP replacements. The second driver is the availability, or otherwise, of suitable alternative lower GWP refrigerants for larger equipment. In the small splits sector, we have a proven alternative in the form of R32. However, for larger VRF equipment, the jury is still out on possible safe alternatives. To give the industry the time needed to test potential candidates and develop any equipment modifications required, it has been vital that the reduced supplies of R410A available over the next few years be effectively ‘ring- fenced’ as far as possible for use in VRF systems.
The recent move by leading suppliers towards use of R32 in split systems enables this, and gives the industry a period of grace to develop long-term solutions for larger systems. The overall effect of adopting R32 for splits will be to deliver a significant reduction in GWP in an important and growing product segment. For example, the GWP of R32 is 675, one third of that of R401A, the refrigerant it replaces. Apply this across the growing national installed base of R32 systems, and the industry’s GWP footprint starts to be transformed.
On the chiller side, technology is also evolving rapidly to meet the challenges of environmental protection and F-Gas compliance. R1234ze is dominating with a GWP of just 7 compared to 1430 for R134a, representing a reduction of some 99.5%.
Development work on lower GWP solutions for VRF systems continues industry-wide. For our own part, promising options are currently being
www.acr-news.com June 2019 9
evaluated and we anticipate being able to offer a best-in-class solution in good time to meet the phase-down.
Meanwhile, the combined move towards the use of medium GWP R32 in split air conditioning and very low HFO refrigerants in chillers will, over time, dramatically transform this key aspect of the industry’s environmental credentials. Given current progress, in the not-too-distant future we will be able to consign the period of high GWP refrigerants to history. As we have shown, the new era of high performance, high efficiency, low carbon cooling and heating is already taking shape.
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