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Opinion
The Choice Conundrum How do end users choose the right low-GWP solution when there are so many options that aren’t wrong? By Chris Vallis and Paul Alway
Chris Vallis, AB Group
O
ver 250 years ago, in 1758, Benjamin Franklin studied the science of refrigeration in Cambridge, England.
Today, the refrigeration cycle is earmarked as a solution to heating and cooling challenges on a global scale. For example, heat pumps are heralded as having the potential to address the world’s heating and cooling needs while operating with almost no carbon emissions, if powered by renewable energy. As reported in the April 2017 issue of Accelerate America, refrigerant management has been identified by Project Drawdown as the No. 1 climate-change mitigation approach for atmospheric CO 2 -equivalent reductions. Under a plausible scenario, refrigerant management is estimated to cut almost 90 gigatons of greenhouse gas GHG) emissions over a 30-year period. That is the equivalent of eliminating the GHG emissions from over 750 coal-fired power plants each year.
Paul Alway, AB Group
It’s a sobering and motivating thought that our sector can play such a significant role in the future of our planet and its climate. The importance of GHG reduction was underscored by Elon Musk in a particularly memorable talk on carbon and the climate crisis at the Paris Climate talks in December 2015. He pointed out that CO 2 in parts per million (ppm) in our atmosphere had been around the 300 level for 400,000 years (see chart, page 27). But carbon levels now top 400 ppm following a continued vertical climb since 1950. Musk explained how this change can have a major impact, given the high sensitivity of our climate. New York City, for example, would be under ice if the average global temperature dropped by 5°C, but it would be under water with a gain of 5°C. This is a plus/minus 2% change (compared to absolute zero), demonstrating that small changes can have huge effects.
Accelerate America
May 2017