Events
In 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency approved R290 for commercial food refrigeration, and R600a (isobutane) and R441A (a hydrocarbon blend) for domestic refrigeration. Last year, the agency expanded the regulations, allowing R290 in domestic refrigeration and R600a and R441A in commercial refrigeration. But the charge limits for commercial and domestic applications, in line with UL standards, were set at 150g and 56g respectively. “I strongly believe that with more insight into and knowledge of the technology, regulators will figure out that today’s charge limit of 150g should probably increase,” Søholm said. He believes the advantages of moving to hydrocarbons are so significant in terms of energy efficiency and environmental impact that the only conceivable obstacle to their wider uptake is flammability. “But […] today’s technology knowhow limits those risks,” he said, pointing out that hydrocarbons have already been used safely in household domestic appliances in Europe and Asia for many years. Huayi’s Olalla is in no doubt as to the boost that a charge limit increase would bring. “If it moves from 150g to 500g or 350g, this challenge of refrigerant charge for some types of application would be solved. There would be no challenge in light commercial applications for hydrocarbons then.” Other companies echoed this view. “We see more interest in propane compared to [the last Chillventa] two years ago. It’s taking off in Europe in particular, but also in the US,” said Stefan Lammert, a key account manager at Danfoss. “We’d like to see the charge limit increased to help grow the market further.” Indeed, manufacturers worldwide are calling for an easing of regulatory restrictions to help broaden the range of applications and boost uptake of natural refrigerant technologies. December 2016
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“The industry is moving forward. OEMs are starting to select alternatives [to HFCs], and to develop components and equipment for them. Now, the regulatory and safety barriers must be adopted to allow safe use of equipment using […] A3 refrigerants,” said AHRI President Yurek, whose organisation represents technology manufacturers worldwide. Yurek argued that hydrocarbons (A3 refrigerants) are viable environmentally friendly alternatives to HFCs, but that safety standards currently in place in the United States are too restrictive. “In general, US codes are very restrictive for […] A3 refrigerants. Safety standards must be modified to ease restrictions on use of […] A3 refrigerants,” he said.
HYDROCARBON HEAT PUMPS ON THE RISE Accelerate Europe also heard about the development of the hydrocarbon heat pump market in Europe. Swedish manufacturer Beijer Ref has developed a highly efficient hydrocarbons-based heat pump, the TripleAqua, which is already running in two offices and a supermarket in the Netherlands. The company plans to build a factory, which will be used in part to construct TripleAqua units. “We are building a unit for bigger buildings for end users with a policy of using natural refrigerants, and for government buildings like town halls,” said Menno van der Hoff, manager of R&D HVAC for Dutch supplier Uniechemie (Union Chemicals), a division of Beijer Ref. Beijer Ref argue that the TripleAqua can save up to 50% in heating and cooling costs in commercial buildings compared to traditional heat pumps, with a COP of between four and ten. The system employs propaene (R443A), a mixture of the hydrocarbons propane (R290) and propene (R1270), with a global warming potential (GWP) of three and a charge of less than 11 lbs.