Imagen: giz / Andreas Döring
The viability of applying selected refrigerants with a GWP < 150 to reversible room air conditioning systems (RACS) with nominal cooling capacities below 12 kW is considered. The assessment reflects the proposed revision to the European F-gas regulation.
- This class of RACS currently use R410A and R32, whereas alternative refrigerants with GWP < 150 under consideration are primarily R1270, R290 and secondarily R1234yf and R152a.
- Application of these alternatives is evaluated with regards to the extended use of flammable refrigerants enabled by the revised safety standard for air conditioners and heat pumps, IEC 60335-2-40: 2022.
- The criteria against which the viability is assessed are:
- Product safety, through compliance with safety standards, primarily related to refrigerant charge limits necessary for high efficiency RACS.
- Cost for the consumer, through impact on material costs and whether adoption of the alternatives would result in an adverse increase in cost.
- Environmental impact, through assessment of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions
- The assessment is carried out through the use of a publicly-available RACS database (Eurovent) which was extended to include refrigerant charge, product mass and dimensions and pricing. Aspects assessed include performance analysis of the refrigerant-RACS combinations considering heat exchanger and piping design, quantification of mass and dimensions of system components, costs and associated CO2e emissions.