International News
estimates that in Europe , moving away from HFCs in split air-con from 2025 could result in cumulative savings of 62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2050 , that is , the same amount as the annual emissions from over 500 000 cars .
We shouldn ’ t forget that EU F-Gas Regulation already bans the use of HFCs with GWP > 150 in portable ACs as of 2020 ( about 200 000 units / year ) and in all ‘ Mobile Air Conditioners ’ in new cars and vans manufactured from 2017 ( Directive 2006 / 40 / EC ).
In commercial HVAC there are no specific bans yet , but industry is seeing the introduction of units with lower GWP gases compared to the previous standard R-410A ( GWP = 2088 , no flammability ): mainly R-32 ( GWP = 677 , A2L flammability according to ASHRAE Standard 34 , no pin-to-pin replacement with R-410A ), but also R-452B / R-454B ( GWP = 698 / 466 , A2L flammability , pin-to-pin replacement with R-410A ) and other even lower GWP HFC blends . The amount of R-1234yf contained in some of these blends puts them outside of a green vision , as it breaks down in the atmosphere creating high levels of trifluoroacetic acid ( TFA ), which can be very harmful to human health and the environment . In fact , TFA is considered a persistent toxic pollutant , as it accumulates in the hydrosphere and affects germination and plant growth .
To leave behind this situation of uncertainty and transitory solutions , the development and release of solutions based on natural refrigerants propane ( R-290 ) and CO₂ ( R-744 ) that have near-to-zero GWP has seen a strong increase in Europe in the last year , in residential , commercial and industrial HVAC . I expect there to be a significant acceleration .
In residential HVAC there are already units available on the shelf and that are using either propane or CO₂ . Propane is mainly used in outdoor units for space cooling & heating , there are now several manufacturers in Europe ( mainly based in Germany , Poland , Italy , Nordics , UK but also other EU countries ) that are finalising or launching their products through their distribution channels . Of course , they had to learn how to manage the flammability of this A3 gas , also supported by expert suppliers capable to providing components , solutions and above all know-how .
From heat exchangers to compressors , valves and so on , most of the components inside the unit have to be reconsidered . The result is that effective solutions have been identified and made applicable for the typical mass production of HP manufacturers involving thousands of units per year .
That is true also for CO₂ technology , which is more suitable for domestic hot water HP , and has already been proven to work well in Japan ( EcoCute HP ) but needs adaptations to perform well in Europe . The technology is not trivial , as it requires higher working pressures than HFCs and several refrigerant circuit layouts are being examined .
The challenge there is also to invest in setting up the service and maintenance networks for CO₂ heat pumps . As for propane , for CO₂ too know-how is the ‘ service ’ that HVAC manufacturers most request from suppliers , and those that have been operating in the refrigeration industry , where CO₂ has been adopted for several years , are successfully using their strategic advantage .
In industrial HVAC , we have several manufacturers across Europe ( mainly Italy and Germany ) selling chillers that use natural refrigerants ,
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RACA Journal I February 2021 www . hvacronline . co . za