News

The Institute of Refrigeration and A-Gas is hosting another free breakfast briefing, this time on the subject of new refrigerants.

Johnson Controls’ chiller and heat pump units use no more than 49 kg (108 lbs.) of ammonia.

South Eastern Regional College (SERC) has been named as an accredited Fujitsu Training Academy. The Academy is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland and has been designed to support the industry with skills development.

As part of the Kigali agreement to phase-down HFCs, under the Montreal Protocol, China is proposing a review of safety standards to remove barriers to alternatives to HFCs, especially natural refrigerants.

Ellis Training is one of the industry’s most respected names in Refrigeration, F Gas, Air Conditioning, Brazing and Heat Pump training. Ellis Training courses are among the most highly regarded in the world, with trainees coming from overseas and all parts of the UK.

Kysor/Warren, a division and brand of global refrigeration equipment maker Heatcraft Worldwide Refrigeration, is optimistic that deployment of natural refrigerant technologies will expand in the U.S., but the company admits there are some obstacles to overcome.

The Kigali Amendment is an amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. It was adopted by the 28th Meeting of Parties to the Montreal Protocol on 15 October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda. The Amendment adds powerful greenhouse gases hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to the list of substances controlled under the Protocol to be phased down. The Amendment will enter into force when the conditions indicated under question 6 below are met.

In the future we will see more alternative refrigerants to HFCs due to the EU F-gas Regulation and future international phase-down of High Global Warming Potential Substances. To lower global warming impact it is necessary to have a less stable molecule as a refrigerant, which means that the substance becomes flammable.

Supermarkets are using chillers with self-contained units in ‘propane-propane’ configuration.

An innovative UK-based company has developed a new design of oil-free compressor that is said to overcome many of the drawbacks of conventional technology.

Spanish manufacturer’s NH3/glycol unit can be stationed outside of industrial facilities.

From 2020 onwards, Deutsche Bahn AG plans to make their air-conditioning in new trains use natural refrigerants.

Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases aims at reducing emissions of these gases through a variety of measures: rules on containment, use, recovery and destruction of fluorinated greenhouse gases, conditions on the placing on the market of certain types of products or equipment containing or relying upon fluorinated greenhouse gases (bans), specific uses of these gases (service ban), quantitative limits for the placing on the market of HFCs (phase-down). In November 2012, the European Commission proposed to revise Regulation (EC) No 842/2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases. This revision resulted in Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases and repealing Regulation (EC) No 842/2006. It was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 20th May 2014 and entered into force on 9th June 2014. The new Regulation are applicable from 1st January 2015.

Manufacturers see potential for natrefs in onboard trucking in U.S. market.

The ban on the use of R134a in mobile air-conditioning systems within the EU has triggered a series of research projects. Apart from the CO₂ technology (page 35), new refrigerants with very low GWP values and similar thermodynamic properties as R134a have been developed.

Stratospheric ozone depletion as well as atmospheric greenhouse effect due to refrigerant emissions have led to drastic changes in the refrigeration and air conditioning technology since the beginning of the 1990s.

A symposium on commercial refrigeration in New Orleans, US reviewed solutions post HFC phase-down, pointing to CO₂ as a leading option.

UNEP has repeated warnings to waste handlers after the owner of a Spanish recycling company received two years’ jail for releasing refrigerants to atmosphere.

Component manufacturer Güntner expects the industrial and commercial cooling industry to go for ammonia and CO₂, based on feedback from customers at Chillventa 2016.

Following the introduction of energy labelling for professional refrigeration, Precision redesigned its cabinets to conform to the European EcoDesign Energy Labelling Standard. The cabinets can now claim some of the best energy ratings and ultra low running costs on the market. For example, the MPT601 only uses 1.25kWh/24hr under EcoDesign test conditions, giving running costs of just £50.19 a year. (Based on energy price of £0.11/kW).