ACR Journal

BRA guide to A2Ls The information gathered through the results of the store trials will be available to contractors in a guide produced by the British Refrigeration Association. This will help engineers with the installation of A2Ls and set out in detail the risk assessment necessary when working with mildly flammables. Energy efficiency The Opteon products have been designed to be energy efficient and the trials have shown that they can have a better performance than systems running on hydrocarbons or CO 2 . This is because we have blended our products to have the optimum balance of low GWP and energy efficiency. The advantage we have is that we can design products to offer the best performance in a commercial refrigeration situation. The environment Opteon XL20 has a GWP of less than 150, while Opteon XL40 has a GWP of less than 240. So, the effects of leaks on the environment are lessened considerably. The future Once engineers have an understanding of how to work with A2Ls, I am sure they will become the refrigerant of choice. The systems are cheaper to run and maintain and are here for the long run. The success of R32 in air conditioning systems has shown that A2Ls are very much here to stay and I am sure that will be the case in commercial refrigeration, especially in the areas of store refits, convenience stores and petrol forecourt operations. In smaller installations A2Ls offer a much cheaper and more effective alternative to CO 2 systems or other natural refrigerants and this is where they can really make an impact from an installer’s point of view.