Adopting propane split ACs would avoid up to 0.12 degree celsius of global warming
A recently published study by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Vienna found that adopting propane (R290) in split air conditioners (ACs) worldwide would reduce global warming up to 0.12°C.
Split ACs are the most common residential cooling equipment worldwide. Not only are they energy intensive (requiring up to 10% of global electricity in 2016, as the study reports), but they are also commonly charged with high-GWP f-gases scoring hundreds or thousands times more than carbon dioxide, both on a 100-year and 20-year GWP perspective.
Split ACs are estimated to reach 3.7 billion units in 2050 if the current trend continues, with mainly Asian countries driving this growth, the study reports.
The authors of the study deployed the modelling tool GAINS and reached the conclusion that “a switch to propane as an energy-efficient and commercially available low-GWP alternative in split ACs” could avoid an average of 0.09°C (0.06 to 0.12°C) increase in global temperature by the end of the century. This, they stress “is significantly more” than the average of 0.035°C (0.02 to 0.05°C) avoided warming from a complete switch to HFC-32 in split ACs.