www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za RACA Journal I July 2023 9
Associations transitioning towards natural refrigerants remains absent . Although hydrocarbon refrigeration technology is already established in other parts of the world , it is not yet fully commercially available within South Africa and is currently limited to the domestic appliance market segment . Importation of such technology is currently limited due to the lack of demand within the country .
The complexity escalates when considering multiplex systems employing ammonia and CO 2
. Furthermore , analysing the cost of refrigerants relative to the baseline R22 , R404 demonstrates a substantial increase of approximately 1.7 times , while the new refrigerant 448 is nearly 3.3 times more expensive than R22 . Conversely , R290 proves to be a more affordable alternative to R22 ; however , its viability is hindered by the unavailability of compatible hardware .
Refrigerant Pricing
Addressing maintenance costs , fuel quality , pressure , and flammability requires adherence to safety principles outlined in SANS 10147 and ASHRAE Standard 34 , which categorise refrigerants into different safety groups .
Regardless of the safety group classification , be it A1 or A3 , utmost importance must be placed on ensuring proper handling to mitigate potential risks . Technicians operating in the industry must prioritise the critical aspect of refrigerant training . Alarmingly , a significant number of technicians remain unregistered and lack adequate training . It is imperative to drum home the necessity of attending training programmes to enable safe handling of refrigerants . This presents a formidable challenge that must be urgently addressed . RACA
The challenges of climate change for the HVAC & R industry .
www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za RACA Journal I July 2023 9