Currently the company is producing both fixed and variable (inverter) speed AC systems. One 1T 8-Star inverter model in particular has a remarkable ISEER value of 6.15 (while the EER of traditional systems using R22 and R410A is 3.5), leading then to important energy savings. Other 1T, 1.5T and 2T models have 3-, 4- and 5-Star ratings and lower ISEER (ranging however between 3.7 and 5.2). In developing these products, the company had to study charge minimisation, performance optimisation and integration of safety features. The training of field technicians represents another key aspect to ensure the proper functioning and maintenance of these systems: more than 4,500 technicians were trained. Godrej upgraded its manufacturing facility to incorporate additional safety alarms and procedures for dealing with flammable refrigerants. The company runs a quality database to keep track of complaints and faults. The main problem is leakage, which as of 2015 had happened only in less than 500 units (thus in less than the 0.5% of the units sold by that time). The annual leakage rate is considered to be extremely low, and in any case much lower (even by 10 times in certain cases) than those of competing HFC units. In terms of flammability safety, in a small number of cases the installation exceeded the maximum limit by a marginal amount: nevertheless in these cases the releasable refrigerant charge was still within the prescribed limits. As a result, the risk assessment analysis showed that the risk associated with such cases is still significantly less than negligible. Besides India, the company has important market shares in Nepal, Maldives, Grenada, Bhutan, Philippines, Costa Rica and Thailand, selling in total over 600,000 RACs. Currently in India hydrocarbon charges are effectively limited to 350 grams. A higher amount would pave the way to a broader adoption of natural refrigerants. Given the lack of national standards for hydrocarbons in India, Godrej developed its R290 technology in collaboration with German development agency GIZ and the Indian government. Nonetheless, reference was made to European standards with regard to safety requirements. Systems using hydrocarbons generally can achieve a high level of efficiency (in terms of COP) across the range of competing products. Amongst the innovations that led to this result, an increased compressor displacement by about 10% and the optimisation of the condenser design as well as of capillary tube and charge amount.
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