REFRIGERANTS
Beyond lower GWP
The quota reductions that form the basis of the HFC phase-down will continue to require significant reductions in the import of higher GWP refrigerants. Here, Graham Wright, legislation and compliance manager at Daikin UK discusses what the industry can do, in addition to moving to lower GWP refrigerants, to reduce the pressure on quotas.
T
he F-Gas regulations introduced in 2015 are designed to reduce the usage of refrigerants with the highest global warming potential (GWP), which are therefore the most damaging to the environment. This is being achieved through the use of quotas granted to refrigerant manufacturers and importers, which will be reduced in stages from the 2015 baseline. The weighted quota means that the higher the GWP of a refrigerant, the more of the quota it will use up.
After two years in which the quotas had a minimal effect on the supply of refrigerants, 2018 marks the first significant reduction. The 37% reduction, which came into force on 01 January this year, follows the previous cut of just 7% in 2016. This has placed pressure on the supply of many of the most commonly used gases and led to sharp increases in the prices of refrigerants such as R410A. The most obvious solution, and the long-term aim of the regulations, is for the industry to adopt lower GWP alternatives such as R32. While the replacement refrigerants are still hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and therefore still count towards
28 May 2018
the quota, a lower GWP means that supply will be less restricted. For example, suppliers can import three times the volume of R32 compared to R410A, with the same proportion of their quota used.
However, this switch from one to the other cannot be made immediately. The reality is that for some applications, such as the larger VRV and VRF systems, the units that utilise R32 are still being developed and so even new installations will have to use R410A. This means that taking steps to reduce the pressure on the supply of virgin refrigerants is critical.
One effective way of reducing the quantity of the higher HFC refrigerant that needs to be manufactured and imported is to create a ‘circular economy’ through the recovery, reclamation and reuse of the gases when systems are serviced or replaced. This is because under the F-Gas regulations, recycled products are not deemed to have been newly ‘placed on the market’ and as such are not included in the quotas. Historically, there has been limited incentive to implement wide-scale reuse because new refrigerants were
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