Alternatives to HCFCs in the refrigeration and air conditioning

This may seem a lot of time, but many countries are increasing their consumption of HCFCs quickly and the risk of construction of HCFC-infrastructure, which can be difficult and expensive to convert to non-ODS refrigerants in the future. The freeze in 2013 (the base is the average consumption of HCFCs in the period between 2009 and 2010) will become a problem, if measures are not taken immediately. It is important to make sure that all HCFC consumption (production and imports - exports) properly reflected in the reports to the base 2009-2010 freeze in 2013, and that sooner measures to reduce the number of new HCFC consumption to a minimum.

The first priority should be to stop all new installations using HCFC as soon as possible. There is a special challenge for countries importing HCFC-22 (R-22) equipment, as they are delivered pre-charged with refrigerant shall not be counted in the calculation of the country's consumption of HCFC baseline. As this equipment is outdated and service needs increase, only a limited number of ofHCFCs be available on the market. Many Article 5 countries have HCFC production equipment, but also the import of R-22 air conditioners are growing rapidly. Equipment that use alternative refrigerants available also a somewhat higher price, but it should also be kept in mind that R-22 equipment on the market of the old structure, while the new models were developed to meet much higher standards of energy efficiency.

Therefore, the installation of such equipment, and slightly higher cost, will lead to additional energy savings in the long term. Many of the substances used to replace HCFCs have significant GWP, which must be taken into account when alternative technologies are evaluated. The choice of alternative substances and technologies will significantly affect the future impact on the climate in this sector. As a direct impact of selected substances and energy consumption will depend on the chosen technology.

Technology to move away from HCFCs are well-known and proven in developed countries, and many alternatives already partly implemented in developing countries due to the influence of neighboring countries and international companies. The strongest incentive for continuous growth markets for HCFCs is lower initial price of both matter and equipment intended for use with HCFC (although it is often only in the short term, as a long-term energy and the future cost of the modernization will be high). R-22 is also a product that the entire industry is familiar with. alternatives with less environmental impact is often associated with slightly higher cost and the necessary technical know-how to accelerate to a large number of vehicles.

This creates uncertainty in the market that can be taken advantage of competing companies, preserve "old technologies" at minimum cost. For some of the environmentally preferred solutions, there are also security barriers that need to be addressed to make these viable alternative solutions. A more detailed list of alternatives to HCFCs are listed in Appendix I - List of refrigerants. In Article 2 (i.e. developed countries) markets, the transition has already happening over the last 15 years, so commercial alternatives are proven. For example, in Europe, the ban on the installation of HCFCs is active since 2004, and a total ban on the use of virgin HCFC started in 2010.

The following HCFCs are most widely used in various industries: HCFC traditionally global solution in sectors that are now rapidly increasing in many developing countries, such as stationary air conditioning and large commercial and industrial refrigeration plants. In later applications, HCFCs fought with ammonia, another well-proven "Mature" technology. Other applications are new, with HCFCs was used as a replacement to facilitate the phase-out of CFCs. Traditionally retail food sector mostly uses the R-12 (CFC) and R-502 (containing CFCs), but moved to R-22 as a transitional product before non-ODS alternatives, such as R-134a and R-404A/R 507 were adopted.

HCFCs are used as a component of a large number of refrigerant blends, are often designed to match the behaviour and performance of R-12 and R-502. They are often called service or drop-in combines as they are intended to facilitate the simple replacement of CFCs in existing installations with minimal changes to the system.

HCFC also used as a raw material for production of plastics and other chemicals. When replacing HCFC important to assess the environmental impact of alternatives, since the most frequent change of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which have considerable Potential of Global Warming. The impact of alternative refrigerants and energy consumption of the selected systems and solutions should be evaluated in order to minimize their overall environmental impact. Adoption of measures for reducing and cooling Air conditioning loads through good construction structures and processes are undoubtedly the most effective way to reduce the environmental impact of these technologies...