According to 2014 EU F-Gas Regulation (517/2014), EU countries must reduce the Global Warming Performance year by year. This regulation defines how each industry needs to contribute to reach the total EU target.
In the air conditioning industry, this will affect single split air conditioning systems containing less than 3kg of fluorinated greenhouse gases - that is to say the split systems in most peoples offices, shops and homes. The refrigerant within this system must be less than 750 global warming potential (GWP) by the year 2025. Most manufacturers are ready now to supply any kind of single split and multi split system with up to five ports, in addition to commercial splits of up to 14kW so this should present no problem.
For many years, R32 has been used as a component part of the R407C and R410A refrigerant blends. On its own, however, R32 offers a number of significant advantages over blended refrigerants.
First, R32 has a much lower impact on global warming when compared to its blended predecessors - its GWP is significantly lower than that of R410A. When considering future legislation and the anticipated reduction in the availability of refrigerants, plus a drive towards the use of lower GWP refrigerants, it makes sense to start to use R32 systems for all new projects going forward.
R32 is also a more efficient alternative to R410A, with realistic efficiency increases of up to 10 percent, leading to significant energy savings for building services managers and end users.
As R32 is already a familiar component of R410A, the switch does not present any new challenges to installers procedures, including piping and testing, which remain the same. As with all refrigerants, R32 must be safely handled at all times and spaces properly ventilated when it is being charged and recovered from air conditioning units. R32 is mildly flammable and must be handled by F Gas certified engineers but this is true of all refrigerants on the market currently anyway.
In conclusion, the reasons why Hertfordshire Air Conditioning has decide to select and specify R32 systems going forward is;
- lower GWP rating
- cost neutral compared to R410a equipment
- more energy efficient than R410a equipment
- lower ODP rating
- cheaper refrigerant for servicing requirements
- more sustainable refrigerant in the long term.
We anticipate R410a refrigerant playing its part in air condition landscape for a few years to come but expect that this refrigerant will be phased out in the main within the next 2 to 4 years.
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