Alternative Refrigerants for AC Industry in

High-Ambient Temperature Countries; Bridging

Environment, Standards and Research
SESSION IV: Hydrocarbons (HC) for AirConditioning Applications
Global overview and trends on HC Air-Conditioning
Equipment
Bernhard Siegele
GIZ Proklima
Wednesday, 11th September 2013, Dubai
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 Deutsche

GesellschaftfrInternationaleZusammenarbeit GmbH

An international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development

with worldwide operations
Owned by the German Government
Established in 1975
In more than 130 countries
With 67 own offices.
~18,000 employees

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Proklimaworldwide

~ 19 years worldwide initiatives

~ 245 projects
~ 40 Partner countries
~ 8,100 ODP tons reduced
~ 100 Mio tons CO2eq. reduced
> 35.000 technicians trained

Integrated ozone and climate protection with focus on

natural refrigerants with low-GWP and energy-efficient
applications
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TEAP report for OEWG33/MOP25 AC:

Small Self-Contained (SSC) air conditioners:

HC-290 has been used in portable AC for many years, several companies
are producing them.

HC-290 window units under development.

HC-290 seems to be preferred over HC-1270 for smaller capacity

systems.

HC-290 used in split AC for many years on a limited scale but now some
companies are developing and producing them on a larger scale.

Both HC-290 and HC-1270 are used for AC from a number ofchiller
manufacturers in Europe and some countries in other regions.

R-717 is used fairly widely for process refrigeration, food storage facilities and
air conditioning.

R- 744 is now used for AC in reciprocating chillers by many manufacturers.

As with other types of systems, the efficiency is compromised with increasing
ambient temperatures.
13/09/2013

company presentation 2012

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RAC and Climate Change In the Global News

the number of U.S. homes equipped with air conditioning
rose from 64 to 100 million between 1993 and 2009
Vehicle air conditioners in the United States alone use 7 to
10 billion gallons of gasoline annually
The climate impact of air conditioning for
buildings and vehicles in the US is now
that of almost half

a billion
metric tons of carbon
dioxide per year.

The number of airconditioned vehicles in

China will reach 100
million in 2015

50 million air-conditioning units were sold in

China in 2010 alone.

it is possible that world consumption

of energy for cooling could explode
tenfold by 2050
From 1993 to 2005, energy
The world is warming, incomes are rising,
and smaller families are living in larger
houses in hotter place

efficiency of air-conditioning
equipment improved by
almost 30 percent
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Market volume in different applications in refrigeration

andair-conditioning [billion Euros]

Source:Studyfor EC F-Gas Review (ko-Recherche/HEAT GmbH)

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Current status of AC demand

The USA currently uses more energy for air-conditioning than all other
countries combined

87 % of American households are equipped with air- conditioning, and

the United States expends about 185 billion kilowatt hours of energy
annually on residential cooling [U.S. Energy Information Administration]

Urban Chinese households with AC jumped from less than 1 % in 1990

to 62 % in 2003.

In 2010 alone, 50 million air-conditioning units were sold in China

India: only 2 % of households had AC in 2007, sales growing by about

20 % a year.
Ref.: American Scientist, Michael Sivak, 2013

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13/09/2013

company presentation 2012

Page 8

Ref.: American Scientist, Michael Sivak, 2013

Potential AC demand

Mitigation of DirectEmissions:
Stationary AC hasmostsignificantpotential
LABEL PLACEMENT
Compliance Process

Window AC

4.0

Split AC (Indoor)

Gt CO2eq

3.0

2.0

Foam

Stationary AC
Industrial refrigeration
Refrigerated transport
Commercial refrigeration

1.0
0.0

Domestic refrigeration
Mobile AC

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Market data&analyses

Global Unitary AC Demand bycategory, 2012

Rooftop
[commercial]
1.0%

VRF-system
0.9% Movables Window/Through
-The-Wall
1.0%
12.9%
Single-Packaged
1.5%
Indoor Packaged
[commercial]
0.1%
Packaged
Terminal AC
0.4%

SplitSystems
82.1%
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Market data&analyses

EstimatedWorld Chiller Market Value 2011

by type of compressor

Absorption
9.6%

Centrifugal
25.0%

Reciprocating,
Screw, Scroll
65.5%

Total:US-$ 8.42Bio.

(JARN, 2012)
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Potential penetration of alternatives approach

Viable if obstructive
standards are remedied

Viable currently/in
short-term

n
f
Not viable due to cost,
safety or performance
limitations

(Often, gap can be closed if

alternatives system concepts
are used, e.g., chiller instead
of piped refrigerant)

system and
application
characteristics

NOTE: Viability
proportions are
approximate; they will
always be subject to
engineering
interpretation
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HC application in unitary air conditioners

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Residential and small commercial air conditioners

Several manufacturers in Europe, China,

India, Australia primarily using R290
Charge sizes up to 1 kg/7 kW cooling
capacity
very high efficiency
Reversible systems available
Major shift to R290 underway in China
Very controversial sector
certain companies fighting against

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Unitary AC
Gree, China &Godrej, India

Introduction of split AC in China & India

Countries major manufacturers
of Split-AC involved
Improved energy efficiency
ca. +15%
India: >30,000 units in market
China production capacity being
established: ca. 6.4 Mio/yr (>12
manufacturers, MLF)
Use of natural refrigerants

GWP 1810

GWP 3

2013: China releases new

standards removing barriers for
the use of the climate-friendly
AC based on R-290 technology
Increased penetration with the
right servicing capabilities and
product standards (i.e. Ghana)
More than 100 Mio Split ACs
produced annually
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Comparative risk assessment fridge vs. split RAC

HC fridge/freezers excellent safety record
Amongst approx.700 million HC fridge/freezers,
ignition frequency about 110-8 per year lower
than negligible
Comparison of risk enables understanding of
significance of HCs in split AC

0.30

mean (measurement)

Floor concentration (kg/m3)

model

0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00

vs.
Risk lower by
factor of >100
1/10,000
1.E-04

0.04

mean
0.25
Concentration (kg/m3)

mean (model)

0.03

0.02

1/1,000,000
1.E-06

0.01

0.00

50

Time (s)

100

150

100

200
Time (s)

150 g from
refrigerator gives
higher concentration
than 400 g from AC

300

400

1/100,000,000
1.E-08

1/10,000,000,000
1.E-10

pu

f
bli c

ire

frid

C
r
RA
eze
t
i
e
l
r
/f
sp
ge
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HC application in chillers and heat pumps

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Chillers

Many manufacturers using HCs

Mostly within Europe, also Australia, some
other countries
Capacity range from 20 kW to 1.5 MW
Circuits up to 25 kg of R-290 or R-1270
Used for both refrigeration as well as air
conditioning applications

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Case study Ramada Benoa Hotel, Bali (Indonesia)

Installation of new R-290 air conditioning system

180 Guest rooms, spa,

restaurant, etc

Energy consumption:

3.2 Mio kWh/yr (old system)

1.8 Mio kWh/yr (ca. 50%)

Savings: ca. US$ 15,000/m

Return on investment: ca. 12

months

Save 1,500 tonnes CO2eq/yr,

between 4060% lower CO2eq
emissions
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Chillers

Controlled area
(authorised
access)

Safe area (no

inlet ducts,
ignition sources,
etc)

Outside, lots
of ventilation
Individual
chiller modules
(small charge
per circuit)

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Page 21

Wang et al, 2004

Liu, 2007

Li et al, 2010

Lin et al, 2010

Jin et al, 2012

Padalkar et al, 2010

Teng et al, 2012

Xiao et al, 2006

Zhang et al, 2002

Park and Jung, 2008

Xiao et al, 2009

Yan, 1999

Chinnaraj et al, 2010

Zhou & Zhang, 2010

Park et al, 2010

Devotta et al, 2005

Park et al, 2009

Chen et al, 2012

20

Xu et al, 2011

Wu et al, 2012

Park et al, 2007

COP improvementover R22 [%]

Efficiency in air conditioners

30

Summary of efficiency benefits of R-290 & R-1270 over R-22

in window and split RACs
Implies major advantages in for cost-efficient, compact
design

10

8. HC A/C: Cycle performance&system efficiency

In many regions performance at high ambient conditions very important

Test results for split air conditioner at high outdoor temps
R290 and R22 performance very close, but R410A and R32 drop off
R290 also candidate for low, medium and high temperature in commercial
applications
Courtsey Chen Zhenhua, GMCC R&D Centre, China
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New EU Proposal on F-Gas regulation

EU-27 All sources
250,000

Without F-gas legislation

[kt CO2eq]

200,000

150,000

With '2006 F-gas legislation'

100,000

50,000

0
1995

New F-gas proposal

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

Without measures

2025

2030

2035

With measures

Phase-down can only be achieved

when new products use substances
with low-GWP (close to 0)!!

2040

2045

2050

Additional
measures
(Leakage, recovery,
Training etc.)

Bans

POM
Stepwise quota
reduction 2015-2030
(phase-down to 21% of today)

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GIZ series on safe use of natural refrigerants

Morethan 30 national trainingprogrammesunder MLF since 1996

13/09/2013

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Enabling wider application

Requires: improvements to safety

standards; charge reduction; safety
mechanisms integration; further R&D

Closing
the gap
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Manytechnologiesarealreadywidelyapplied in
developed countries

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Movingfrom environmental harmful to

environmentallybenignsubstances has a cost
new complexities for
the application
From all alternatives HC
offerthe best
optionsfordevelopingcou
ntries, in particular also
forhighambienttemperatures.

CFC/
HCFC

HFC

HFC/
HFO NH3

CO2

Ozone Depletion
High GWP
Persistentwastes
Depletable Resources
Recycling
Safety issues
Energy efficiency

Themainbarrieris to
addressflammabilityissu
e of HC.

Costs
IPR
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HC

Thank you for your attention!

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