Ventilation & heat recovery
HVAC system technology T
The key to futureproofing
Nuaire NPD heat pump manager, John Hammond discusses why education and industry change is essential to futureproofing HVAC system technology to achieve the lowest environmental impact
he need for efficient systems in our lives is more important today than it ever has been – from preventing illness and protecting the
vulnerable in high ambient weather, to preserving our food supplies. The technology we use to maintain this lifestyle, however, has to work for both us and the planet. The future of building design is critical to this shift and as an industry we can innovate and invest to achieve the lowest possible environmental effects. The way we look at designing and manufacturing our technologies and the components within them must not only look at creating greater energy efficiencies but also pioneering the move to significant positive environmental impacts. We must start with the type of refrigerants we choose. Each type of refrigerant has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) – a figure that allows us to compare the global warming impacts of different gases. CO2 acts as the base, with a GWP of 1. As an example, R410a refrigerant has a GWP of 2088 – this translates into an equivalent of 2088 metric tons of CO2. It’s for this reason that effort is being made to move away from high-GWP refrigerants. To future-proof the industry, an active effort needs to be made to move away from high-GWP refrigerants. Using low-GWP refrigerants will not only use less energy, but the gases are also less harmful to the planet. This reduced energy usage, as well as lower warming potential, is a big leap in helping reduce global carbon footprints for the industry. The use of these lower-GWP refrigerants do come with some safety concerns, however. Often, low- GWP refrigerants are more flammable and require a smaller charge and it would be foolish to ignore the added safety concerns and requirements that come with using these newer refrigerants.
When working with A2L and A3 flammable gases,
workers need to be aware of the added danger and the differences and nuances when working with different refrigerant types. An understanding of what constitutes as safe working for each refrigerant, as well as a general understanding of how to safely work with pressure equipment and explosive substances is vital. An industry-wide commitment to upskilling F-gas engineers to a higher understanding of PE(S)R and
26 March 2023
right now. As a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant, which is part of a range of refrigerant gases developed to be more environmentally friendly compared to CFC and HCFC gases, R32 has an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of zero, making it ideal for the next generation of equipment. Currently, R-410A is the refrigerant most
commonly used in developed countries. However, if all R-410A were converted to R-32, the impact to global warming from HFCs in 2030 would be reduced by the CO2 equivalent of approximately 800 million tons (19%) compared to the continued use of R-410A.
safe working practices (DSEAR) will help safeguard and futureproof the industry for the changes to come.
Designing for the future
At Nuaire we are already pioneering this technology with our new BPS-ECO-HP product – a brand-new AHU with integrated heat pump that is charged with R32 refrigerant – the most efficient and lowest- Global Warming Potential refrigerant on the market for an AHU. It uses 20% less refrigerant than existing market competitors still opting for R410a – and by using R32, the heat pump is more efficient when carrying heat and has a lower impact on the environment. The R32 refrigerant has a GWP of 675, a third lower than that of systems available on the market
Legislation and standards are driving our industry in the direction of lower-GWP gases via a wider acceptance of flammable refrigerants and manufacturers within the industry are beginning to move over but more investment must be made, and it must be done now. As pioneers in the HVAC industry, Nuaire has made significant investment in future-proofing the designs of our new products. Yes, they are more expensive to create as components are not as readily available and therefore more costly, but we believe this is worth the output to champion the change. We need now for builders and specifiers to adopt this approach too, requesting better quality products that will stand the test of time and not accepting less. For example our new Hybrid Cooling System, which is an ancillary cooling module that works with the existing Nuaire MRXBOX MVHR product to provide a whole new hybrid MVHR and cooling system. The new unit is more energy efficient and keeps electrical usage down by providing up to 2.2kW of combined coolth recover and sensible cooling, lowering fresh air supply temperature by up to 17°C when needed, compared to high-output air conditioning.
The climate crisis isn’t going away and we need
to keep innovating as an industry to reach a GWP goal of zero, especially when striving towards Net Zero targets for 2050. A collaborative approach is essential to this change across both retrofit and new build projects and investing in new technology will help get us there - but education, as always, will be key to champion significant change.
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