A brief history of refrigerant

Since 1985 it’s been well documented that the ozone layer surrounding the earth has been diminishing. Scientific evidence suggests man-made chemicals are mostly responsible.

Since highlighting the relationship between chlorine in CFC’s and the shrinking ozone layer in 1987, the ‘Montreal Protocol on substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer’ was negotiated and signed by 24 countries and the EU. The protocol called for all parties to scale down the use of CFC’s, halons and other man-made ODS.

All refrigerants containing chlorine have now been phased out.

R-22 Phase out Dates

Jan 1st. 2006. 75% cap placed on production of new R22
Jan 1st 2010. Production of R22 discontinued
Jan 1st 2015. Illegal to work on a system containing R22 (System must be replaced)

 

R22 is a Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)

R22 refrigerant has been completely phased out in all new equipment manufactured in the EU. The air conditioning industry now uses (HFC) as it has no chlorine content and zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP).

R407c is a Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)

R407c is a mix of three refrigerants: R32, R125 and R134a - all of which boil at a different temperature. R407c has a range or glide of approximately 5°C compared with R410A which has less than 0.17C. In R407c, R32 provides the capacity, R125 controls the flammability and R134a reduces the pressure.

 

R410A is a Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)

Systems using R410a refrigerant operate at pressures approximately 6 times higher than systems using R22 or R407c. These higher system pressures have resuled in longer pipe seperations becoming achievable. Compressor displacement is down by 30% and the heat transfer ratio has improved by 35%. This has allowed for a smaller physical size of system components such as condensers, compressors, evaporators.

 

Retro-Fitting:

When upgrading your air conditioning system with a newer more energy efficient model, in most cases it is entirely possible to re-use the existing pipe-work.

The latest generation "3" series Digital Inverter outdoor units from Toshiba are designed to allow trouble-free operation when connected to existing refrigeration pipe-work. Check with our technical team for further details.

Recycling:

Redundant air conditioning systems are removed from site and sent for environmentally friendly re-cycling. Refrigerant is recovered and sent for certified safe disposal. All plastic, aluminium, copper and cables are removed and re-cycled.

GT Phelan office policy is to re-cycle all plastics, paper, cardboard, packaging, cartons etc therefore minimizing our contribution to landfill.

Inverters:

An Inverter compressor is designed to vary the it's speed as the demands in the room change. Inverter compressors are designed to soft start therefore causing no dips in power supply.

Single phase AC power is supplied to the outdoor unit where it is rectified and converted into 3-phase DC. The input frequency is then modified to allow the compressor to run at a variety of speeds. The 3 phase DC supply is re-converted into 3 phase AC to drive the compressor.

As the compressor speed decreases, the amount of refrigerant entering the indoor unit also decreases This results in a more comfortable environment as the unit only produces the appropriate amount of cooling or heating required at that time - no more temperature fluctuations. Inverter compressors have been shown to reduce power consumption by as much as 60% when compared to conventional fixed speed equivalents.

Energy rating:

Energy labelling is now mandatory for all air conditioning systems with an output of up to 12.5kW. Equipment with an "A" rating consumes less power than equipment with a "G" rating.

Annual power consumption figures are also shown, based on 500 hours of continuous operation at 100% output. This allows the end-user to calculate an average running cost for their equipment.

Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) is the difference between the power consumed and energy generated. It is calculated by dividing the kW per hour produced by the number of watts used to produce that heat. Higher EER's mean more efficient equipment and lower running costs.

Legislation

F-Gas Regulation

The legal requirements came into effect on January 1st 2007. Products with less than 3kg of R410a or R407C and all products using R22 are exempt from this regulation – the minimization of refrigerant leakage is however an ideal for all systems.

Containment

1. Owners / operators of systems which contain R410a shall, using all practical measures, prevent leakage and repair any detected leakage as soon as possible.

2. Owners / operators of these systems shall ensure that certified personnel check them according to the following schedule:

a) System containing 3kg or more of R410a shall be checked for leakage at least once every twelve months.

b) Systems containing more than 3kg of R410a shall be checked for leakage at least every six months

c) Applications containing more than 300kg of R410a must be checked for leakage once every three months

"checked for leakage" means that the system is examined for leaks using direct and indirect measuring methods (yet to be established) focusing on those parts of the system most likely to leak

3 Owners / operators of systems shall maintain records (available for inspection) on:

a) Details of each system containing 3kg or more of R410a and the required charge

b) Quantities added and/or recovered during servicing, maintenance and final disposal.

c) The company/technican who performed the servicing or maintenance

d) The dates and results of leakage checks

Systems shall be leak tested within one month of repairs being carried out to ensure that the repair has been effective.

Recovery

1. Owners / operators of these systems shall ensure the re-cycling, reclamation or destruction of R410a by vertified personnel

2. When an R410a container reaches the end of its life, the person utilizing the container for transport or storage purposes shall be responsible for the proper recovery of any residue

3. Recovery, for the purpose of re-cycling, reclamation or destruction of R410a, shall take place before the final disposal of that equipment and, when appropriate, during it’s service and maintenance.

Training and Certification of personnel

There are minimum requirements of training programmes and certification for both companies and personnel involved in installation, maintenance or servicing of equipment.

The operator of the relevant application shall ensure that the personnel are certified

Companies involved in the installation, maintenance or servicing of equipment shall only take delivery of R410a where their relevant personnel are certified (by 4th July 2009)

Further information available at www.figaroo.org