R32 refrigerant gas for installed airconditioning systems - for advice call Midland Cool on 0800 440 444
Midland Cool have drafted up a long read below regarding the introduction of one of the latest refrigerant gas for installed wall mount, ceiling mount cassette and floor type air conditioning systems. Manufacturers include Mitsubishi Daikin Fujitsu Daikin and Panasonic
Hope you enjoy the read and we will publish soon about new gasses used in portable air conditioning systems also.
https://www.midlandcool.com/
In 1999 the Kyoto Protocol on global warming listed HFC refrigerants that were contributing to the global warming. This, in turn, led to the introduction of F-Gas regulations in Europe and at the start of January 2015 the next stage of F-gas laws was introduced which detailed the phase down of HFC refrigerant.
It is important to note though that this is a phase down and NOT a phase out – with regulations now based on the tonnes of CO2 equivalent of all refrigerants sold or traded in Europe.
The air conditioning market moved over to R410a refrigerant in 2006 as it offered high efficiencies, achieved by operating at higher pressures and the introduction of inverter technology in DX split systems. It also replaced R22 refrigerant, along with R407c, which was banned because of it’s potential to damage the ozone layer.
All refrigerant has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) with carbon used as the base. Carbon has a GWP of 1. R410a has a GWP of 2,088 meaning that if one kilo is released into the atmosphere it would have 2,088 times the harmful effect of 1kg of carbon making it’s GWP a real issue, even though the ozone depleting potential (ODP) is 0.
Because of this and the European regulation CE 517/2014 making the replacement of fluorinated gases (F-gases) compulsory, in the past few years in our industry we have seen the cost of R410a refrigerant increase by up to 600%, whilst we go through a transition period between 2017 and 2030.
Now it’s time to look at the latest R32 refrigerant the market has to offer and the reasons why other refrigerants are being phased down.
As well as an ozone depletion potential of 0, R32 refrigerant has only approximately 1/3 of the GWP of R410a. Consequently, increasing investigations of this next generation refrigerant.
Until now, R32 refrigerant has been extremely difficult to handle and it’s use, therefore, was not practical. R410a is currently the most commonly used refrigerant in developed countries, however if all systems were converted to R32 the impact to global warming from HFCs in 2030 would be reduced by the CO2 equivalent of approximately 800 million tonnes (19%) compared to the continued use of R410a. It is these statistics that have swayed manufacturers decisions to transition to R32 refrigerant, as well as other factors including energy efficiency, safety and cost effectiveness.
All refrigerants have strong and weak points when it comes to assessing the 4 key criteria, which also varies depending on the type of product. Many major air conditioning manufacturers have determined that R32 is the optimum choice for the unit in their products because of the following benefits.
• R32 has a low GWP (675)
• It has a 0% o-zone impact (ODP)
• Higher in energy efficiency
• Longer pipe runs are available
• It is compliant with the F-gas phasedown
• R32 is affordable and readily available
• 75% less global warming impact
• 30% less refrigerant
Being a single component refrigerant, R32 is easier to re-use and recycle. It is also low-cost to produce and easier to handle because it doesn’t separate and utilises a similar technology, keeping costs round about the same. In addition, R32 is low-toxic, difficult to ignite and does not explode.
We will now start to see more air conditioning units introduced which use R32 as this will allow the industry to transition smoothly to a situation where we will still get the performance and efficiencies needed for our buildings, using refrigerants and equipment that delivers much lower GWP overall.
R32 is now available in the majority of single split systems with Daikin Air Conditioning, Fujitsu Air Conditioning & Panasonic Air Conditioning
Hope you enjoy the read and we will publish soon about new gasses used in portable air conditioning systems also.
https://www.midlandcool.com/
In 1999 the Kyoto Protocol on global warming listed HFC refrigerants that were contributing to the global warming. This, in turn, led to the introduction of F-Gas regulations in Europe and at the start of January 2015 the next stage of F-gas laws was introduced which detailed the phase down of HFC refrigerant.
It is important to note though that this is a phase down and NOT a phase out – with regulations now based on the tonnes of CO2 equivalent of all refrigerants sold or traded in Europe.
The air conditioning market moved over to R410a refrigerant in 2006 as it offered high efficiencies, achieved by operating at higher pressures and the introduction of inverter technology in DX split systems. It also replaced R22 refrigerant, along with R407c, which was banned because of it’s potential to damage the ozone layer.
All refrigerant has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) with carbon used as the base. Carbon has a GWP of 1. R410a has a GWP of 2,088 meaning that if one kilo is released into the atmosphere it would have 2,088 times the harmful effect of 1kg of carbon making it’s GWP a real issue, even though the ozone depleting potential (ODP) is 0.
Because of this and the European regulation CE 517/2014 making the replacement of fluorinated gases (F-gases) compulsory, in the past few years in our industry we have seen the cost of R410a refrigerant increase by up to 600%, whilst we go through a transition period between 2017 and 2030.
Now it’s time to look at the latest R32 refrigerant the market has to offer and the reasons why other refrigerants are being phased down.
As well as an ozone depletion potential of 0, R32 refrigerant has only approximately 1/3 of the GWP of R410a. Consequently, increasing investigations of this next generation refrigerant.
Until now, R32 refrigerant has been extremely difficult to handle and it’s use, therefore, was not practical. R410a is currently the most commonly used refrigerant in developed countries, however if all systems were converted to R32 the impact to global warming from HFCs in 2030 would be reduced by the CO2 equivalent of approximately 800 million tonnes (19%) compared to the continued use of R410a. It is these statistics that have swayed manufacturers decisions to transition to R32 refrigerant, as well as other factors including energy efficiency, safety and cost effectiveness.
All refrigerants have strong and weak points when it comes to assessing the 4 key criteria, which also varies depending on the type of product. Many major air conditioning manufacturers have determined that R32 is the optimum choice for the unit in their products because of the following benefits.
• R32 has a low GWP (675)
• It has a 0% o-zone impact (ODP)
• Higher in energy efficiency
• Longer pipe runs are available
• It is compliant with the F-gas phasedown
• R32 is affordable and readily available
• 75% less global warming impact
• 30% less refrigerant
Being a single component refrigerant, R32 is easier to re-use and recycle. It is also low-cost to produce and easier to handle because it doesn’t separate and utilises a similar technology, keeping costs round about the same. In addition, R32 is low-toxic, difficult to ignite and does not explode.
We will now start to see more air conditioning units introduced which use R32 as this will allow the industry to transition smoothly to a situation where we will still get the performance and efficiencies needed for our buildings, using refrigerants and equipment that delivers much lower GWP overall.
R32 is now available in the majority of single split systems with Daikin Air Conditioning, Fujitsu Air Conditioning & Panasonic Air Conditioning
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