Page 22 - Climate Control News Magazine June-July 2020

Refrigerant Feature
Removing barriers to safely raise charge limits
LIFE FRONT, AN EU-funded project that aims to remove implementation barriers posed by leg- acy charge-limit standards for flammable refrig- erants in refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump (RACHP) applications, has released a new report on how to safely raise charge limits.
With this new report, which includes results from laboratory testing, LIFE FRONT recom- mends measures to minimize concentrations of flammable refrigerants in the case of an equip- ment leak.
It includes advice on mitigation measures in performance testing and increasing charge size for flammable refrigerants, focusing on smaller equipment, such as display cabinets, ice cream
freezers, small/packaged ACs, and small heat pumps, as described in the access categories “a” and “b” in the EN 378-1 (2016) Standard.
This European standard provides the basic safety and environmental requirements, defini- tions, classification and selection criteria for re- frigerating systems and heat pumps.
“For refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump (RACHP) applications, hydrocarbons rep- resent an energy efficient and low global warm- ing alternative to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),” the report said.
“Given the F-Gas Regulation (EU) No 517/2017 requires a reduction in HFCs of more than two thirds by 2030, the market for hydrocarbon-
based equipment is expected to see a vibrant growth in coming years.
in term of mitigation measures, additional lab tests and experiments on various aspects - sys- tem tightness, systems with integral airflow, charge leaks, housing design, ignition sources - are expected to lead to crucial outcomes con- tributing to the development of hydrocarbon- based RACHP applications.
“The market research and the related findings will serve as a basis for ongoing and future pro- ject phases under LIFE FRONT, informing ac- tivities on project safety design, laboratory test- ing and engagement with standardisation development processes.”
Carrier’s HVAC president, Chris Nelson
Advance, as its primary lower GWP solution to replace R-410A in ducted residential and pack- age unitary commercial products utilizing scroll compressors sold in North America.
Carrier also previously announced commit- ments to move toward low GWP refrigerants with the selection of HFO R-1234ze(E) for screw chillers in Europe in 2015, the introduction of R- 513A in multiple centrifugal and screw chillers in 2018 and finally the introduction of the award winning AquaEdge 19DV centrifugal chiller us- ing HFO R-1233zd(E) in 2016.
Visit: www.carrier.com.
The report has focused on smaller equipment such as display cabinets and ice-cream freezers.
Carrier selects R-32
for commercial chillers
AS PART OF its commitment to provide cus- tomers with solutions that use the right refriger- ant for each application, Carrier has selected R-32 to replace R-410A, a high global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant.
The new refrigerant will be used in commer- cial chillers using scroll technology.
R-32 was chosen for its lower environmental impact, high energy efficiency, wide availability and ease of use, the company said in a statement.
In Europe, the refrigerant will be offered in some scroll chillers beginning in the first half of 2020. Introductions will follow in oth- er regions and all will meet UN Montreal Protocol Kigali Amendment regulations tak- ing effect in 2023.
Carrier’s HVAC president, Chris Nelson, said the company focuses on the right refrigerant for
each application in order to provide the best so- lution for its customers.
“After thorough evaluation of the options, Car- rier selected R-32 for scroll chillers and heat pumps for its lower impact on the environment, reaffirming our continued commitment to sus- tainability,” Nelson said.
“Carrier’s use of R-32 refrigerant and expert sys- tem design will reduce the refrigerant carbon foot- print by 80% in commercial scroll chillers and heat pumps. This is due to the much lower GWP and a significant system refrigerant charge reduction compared to the previous generation using R-410A.
“Carrier is continuously investing in long-term solu- tions to lead the industry and promote highly efficient products with lower impact on global warming.”
This announcement follows Carrier’s 2018 se- lection of R-454B, known commercially as Puron
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