Page 13 - Climate Control News August 2021

Natural Refrigerants
Air conditioning ban a missed opportunity
HYCHILL AUSTRALIA PTY Ltd general man- ager, Mario Balen, has raised questions about the government’s latest move to ban high GWP re- frigerants in small air conditioning units.
The ban would apply to units with a refriger- ant charge of up to 2.6kg and a GWP above 750. If
implemented it would lead to an immediate ban of R410a.
Balen said the proposal
would be a token improvement,
pointing out the vast majority
of systems imported into Australia today are al- ready using R32.
“This proposal is a misstep in the right direc- tion. The government is missing an opportunity to achieve real and lasting change,” he said.
“Instead the government has come up with this half-baked and belated idea which allows R32 to keep being used in perpetuity.
“Initially R32 was touted as a stop-gap meas- ure until the ultimate refrigerant could be found.”
Balen said it is important to remember that R32 has a GWP of 675, which is unacceptably high, plus it is flammable and displays a higher level of toxic- ity to R410a.”
Most small air conditioning units imported into Australia today use R32 which has a GWP of 675.
He said technological solutions beyond R32 are available right now, specifically R290 refrig- erant grade propane which has been used in small air conditioning systems for many years.
“The federal government should mandate minimum efficiency levels so that low efficiency refrigerants such as R407C or R404 are banished from the market,” Balen said.
“That way the government could steer the market towards a clean, sustainable and effi- cient air conditioning industry that is environ- mentally responsible.”
CHINA JOINS KIGALI
China has officially accepted the Kigali Amendment to phase down HFC refrigerants.
China, the world’s largest producer of HFCs, has officially pledged to implement the phase down of HFC production and consumption as part of the Kigali Amendment.
Under the agreement, China will reduce HFC use by 80 per cent by 2045 over the 2020-22 baseline.
Hydrocarbon Refrigerant
Replaces R32
R600a
R290
R170
hychill.com.au
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS AUGUST 2021 13
NEW, THIS SUMMER !
NEW, THIS SUMMER !