Heat Pumps Today

08 Why evaluate refrigerant use? What every business needs to know about choosing refrigerants Stop for a moment and think about the positive impact that refrigeration has on our society. From the cold chain for processing, transporting and distributing food, pharmaceutical and other perishables through to, data centers, air conditioning and heating, modern life could not exist without the genius of cooling technologies and refrigerants. The benefits of cooling are undisputed; they literally touch so many aspects of our everyday lives. As the science and technology for cooling and heating applications evolve, so does our knowledge about greenhouse gases. Certain types of refrigerants are identified as contributors to global warming, including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). That’s why, over the last 30 years, international scientific and regulatory bodies have been working to promote legislation and regulation that will phase down their production and use. The European Union, for instance, has set a goal to cut emissions of HFCs by two-thirds by 2030, part of the objective to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. It also recently announced further, more ambitious targets to control emissions from fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases), including HFCs. Therefore, revisions to the current F-gas regulations are expected. These are August | September 2022 A D V E R T O R I A L likely to include a tighter quota system for HFCs, a 98% reduction in the amount of HFCs placed on the market by 2050, and the establishment of better conditions for reporting, enforcement and monitoring. At the same time, manufacturers such as Chemours have developed next-generation replacement refrigerants which comply with or exceed the requirements of evolving regulation while maintaining and improving performance. Businesses across all sectors understand that they are also part of the solution for tackling climate change. But in addition to having an eye on compliance, they are also looking at the situation in the round to include long-term sustainability, energy eciency, suitability of their refrigeration estate and future-proofing their investments. Ensuring compliance in an evolving regulatory landscape The HydroFluoroCarbon (HFC) type of refrigerants came under scrutiny because, despite their ozone-layer depleting potential of zero, they constitute greenhouse gases with a Global Warming Potential (GWP). Therefore, in 1997, The Kyoto Protocol decreed that these should be phased down. Subsequent additional phase-down eorts at EU and Member State levels have been introduced to promote the use of non-HFC refrigerants and ban the use of HFCs for certain applications. This has resulted in a decline in the levels of emissions of HFCs in the EU since 2014. Since 2017, HFCs in refrigeration, air conditioning and other mainstream applications have also been covered by legally binding HFC phase-down quotas, which are set to progressively decrease. Furthermore, in 2020, an EU-wide ban on using refrigerants with a global warming potential (GWP) greater than 2500 for servicing or refilling refrigeration or freezers for commercial use has come into force. Taken together, these developments clearly signal a decline in the future commercial availability of HFCs. They should prompt businesses that use or service commercial refrigeration systems to think about how and when they should transition to alternative sustainable refrigerants such as Hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs). These next-generation refrigerants are not ozone-depleting and have a very low GWP – in the case of the Opteon™ XL20, it is less than 150 GWP. What are the key considerations to think about when transitioning away from high-GWP refrigerants in your operations? Maximizing performance and minimizing environmental impact are likely to be high priority for most businesses. Other areas also worth assessing and questions that might be asked include: Is the refrigerant compliant? It is important to remember that refrigerants with a high GWP are being phased out. So, when choosing a new product, think ahead and ensure you’re compliant in advance of the changes. With a GWP < 150, Opteon™ XL20 ensures compliance with new regulations that are driving the phase down of high GWP refrigerants.