New Refrigerants Question Time
Introductory Comments
Ray Gluckman
Director, Climate Change
SKM Enviros
April 26th 2012, RAC, London
SKM Enviros
• Environmental Consultancy
– 500 staff in UK
• Part of SKM, Australian Engineering Consultancy
– 7,000 staff worldwide
• Ray Gluckman – Director of Climate Change Group
– 100 staff involved in climate change work
– wide range of activities related to reducing GHG emissions
– RAC and F Gases are areas of special expertise
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What next for refrigerant regulations?
• High GWP refrigerants unlikely to be available
long term
• EC: F-Gas Regulation under review (? 2013/4)
• Some of the options being considered:
– HFC bans in specified product areas (new equipment)
– HFC phase down schedule
• International scene
– discussions about HFC phase down via Montreal
Protocol - ? impact by 2015/6
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Bans versus Phase Down
• Bans
– provide certainty
– successful driver of innovation (MAC Directive)
– but require GWP threshold and start date – inflexible
• Phase Down
– allows market much flexibility
– affects new and existing equipment
– but, “investment pointers” are less clear
• Phase down seems to be current favourite
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HFC Emission Reduction Strategies
1. Very low GWP fluids (e.g. GWPs much less than 150)
– best solution, but many constraints
2. Low GWP fluids (e.g. GWPs between 150 and 1,000)
3. Medium GWP fluids to replace high GWP refrigerants
–
e.g. fluid with a GWP of under 2,000 to replace the widely used
HFC 404A which has a GWP of 3,922)
– part of “dual strategy” – enables early cuts in 404A
4. Low charge and low leakage technologies and
improved maintenance to reduce the leakage
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Refrigerant
GWP
Key constraints to usage
Example markets
(current)
Ammonia
0
Highly toxic; slightly flammable;
Large industrial refrigeration,
incompatible with copper
large air-conditioning chillers
components
Very Low GWP
CO2
1
High operating pressure; low
Large commercial and
efficiency in high ambient
industrial refrigeration
temperatures; lack of available
components;
HCs
~5
Highly flammable
Domestic refrigerators, small
commercial hermetic
systems
HFO 1234yf
5
Slightly flammable; not
MACs
commercially available until 2015;
lack of available components; not
technically well proven; large
compressor size
HFO 1234ze
5
Lack of available components; not Water chillers
technically well proven; large
compressor size
Refrigerant
“Blend 300”
GWP
200 to 400
Key constraints to
Example markets
usage
(current)
Slightly flammable. Not
Not in current use
Low GWP
commercially developed yet
“Blend 700”
600 to 800
Not commercially
Not in current use
developed yet
HFC 32
675
Slightly flammable
Being introduced for small
Medium GWP
air-conditioning systems
HFC 134a
1,422
Medium GWP
HFC 404A alternative (MT)
HFC 407F
1,825
Medium GWP
HFC 404A alternative
HFC 410A
2,088
Medium GWP
Small air-conditioning
HFC 407A
2,107
Medium GWP
HFC 404A alternative (MT)
Use of Flammable Refrigerants (1)
• Lots of important development work needed
• Currently 3 categories in safety codes
1. non-flammable
e.g. HFC 134a, CO2
2. slightly flammable
e.g. ammonia, HFC 32
3. highly flammable
e.g. HC 290 (propane)
• New category being introduced:
– 2L – lower flammability than 2, but slightly flammable
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Use of Flammable Refrigerants (2)
• Some interesting issues:
• Is a single new safety code category sufficient?
– e.g. should HFC 32 and HFO 1234yf be in same
category
– will “Blend 300” be less flammable than HFO 1234yf?
• What impact does actual flammability have on
choice of refrigerants in different applications
– e.g. how much refrigerant in 1234yf DX system
• Will new safety category restrict use further
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Contact Details
Ray Gluckman
SKM Enviros
New City Court, 20 St Thomas Street,
London, SE1 9RS
email: rgluckman@globalskm.com
Tel: 01932 866344
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