Cold Link Africa Cold Link AfricaOctober 2018_digital | Page 11

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
N
ational committees on the
International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) have agreed by
a 75% ‘yes’ vote to increase the charge
limit of A3 (flammable) refrigerants in
commercial refrigeration equipment to
500g from 150g, setting the stage for a
potential final vote on the IEC 60335-2-89
charge standard by the end of 2018.
The vote represents the latest stage,
along a lengthy standards process, that will
determine whether the higher charge limit
is ultimately enacted as an international
standard.
In the weeks preceding the vote by
the national committees, there was
speculation that the new charge-limit
standard might not be approved by
more than 67%. Even now, as the process
nears its end game, “The battle is not over
yet,” says Marek Zgliczynski, chair of the
IEC SC61C subcommittee and manager
of commercial refrigeration product
engineering for Embraco.
During a meeting last October
in Vladivostok, Russia, the IEC
subcommittee decided to advance
the draft amendment prepared by the
working group standard for commercial
refrigeration (which calls for the charge
limit to rise to 500g), to the next stage in the
process, in which IEC national committees
take a vote. By voting 75% ‘yes’, they
exceeded the minimum 67% required for
the standard to advance to the final vote.
The next step is to address the
comments from the Committee Draft
for Vote (CDV) process during the next
subcommittee meeting in Busan, South
Korea, in October. The subcommittee will
then decide, based on whether the issues
raised by the comments are resolved,
whether the charge-limit draft should go to
a final vote phase by the end of 2018. If so,
the standard could be published in early
2019, assuming a successful final vote.
Standards from the IEC, a worldwide
body that proposes rules governing how
to use electrical, electronic, and
related technologies, influence
the development of the market
by providing manufacturers
and customers with
guidelines as to
what is safe to
use and buy. “To
be mandatory, the
standard has to be
adopted by region,” says
Zgliczynski.
It is claimed that the 150g
limit does not allow manufacturers
and end users to fully exploit the safe
application of hydrocarbon refrigerants in
this sector.
Source: Hydrocarbons21.com CLA
COLD LINK AFRICA • October 2018
One step closer to increasing
the hydrocarbon charge limit
The IEC recently
voted to increase
the charge limit of A3
refrigerants in commercial
refrigeration applications
from 150g to 500g.
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
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