LATEST HYDROCARBON-BASED REFRIGERATION TRENDS René van Gerwen, ENTROPY Cooling Solutions - Tour around the Globe - Regulations, Codes, Standards & Guidelines - Skills, Training & Certification - Conclusions and a view on the future
Tour around the globe Global market Global, regional & national businesses Regional & national differences No complete overview Just a snapshot, to inspire (mainly from previous ATMOsphere Conferences)
Global
Tour around the globe: global rollout of domestic refrigeration 25 YEARS GREENFREEZE: A FRIDGE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD March 1992: showcasing a mix of propane and butane as a successful natural refrigerant Rising awareness amongst the large German refrigerator manufacturers: no success East German company showed interest Birth of Greenfreeze refrigerators Hydrocarbons for insulation foam and refrigerant 1993: 300,000 units per year 2018: 100 million units per year Shanghai Refrigeration Meeting, March 1997
Tour around the globe: global rollout of Plug-in retail cabinets (In most cases respecting the 150 g HC limit)
Asia-Pacific
Tour around the globe: Asia-Pacific India: Mini split HC air conditioner (since 2012) 600.000 HC units in the market, capacity 3.5 to 5 kw Training & certification network to control safe installation, servicing and repair Inverter models are top in efficiency in their capacity category
Tour around the globe: Asia-Pacific China: Split HC Air conditioners: 10,000+ units Portable HC Air conditioners and dehumidifiers: 100,000+ units 20 production lines have been converted to HC; additional 20 lines are planned in next five years China major Retail Chain: From 2015, all new stores with R290 island freezer cabinets
Tour around the globe: Asia-Pacific Australia: HC water chillers in Australia Commercial air conditioning Process cooling applications Outdoor installation Capacity from 3,0 to 15,0 kw
Africa
Tour around the globe: Africa HC domestic fridges and plug-in retail cabinets gain momentum Other HC applications still challenging HC pilots Sourcing issues and lead times for compressors and units Competence and training require attention Truck as part of pilot study to trial R290 in refrigerated transport (Image credit: John Ackermann)
South America
Tour around the globe: South America Argentina Announcement of shift to hydrocarbon production by Whirlpool in September1997 HC Domestic fridges and plug-in retauil cabinets gain momentum Pilots and case studies with other HC applications
North America
Tour around the globe: North America USA Organic/Natural Food Retailer: Small charge HC cases in many stores First in the U.S. to test a centralized propane/co 2 cascade system (picture)
Tour around the globe: North America USA Refrigeration Contractor/Supplier: Committed to move entire manufacturing to 100% HC (R290) by 2019 HC systems cheaper to run and more cost effective than HFC 327 HC base models that meet DOE s 2017 standards
Europe
Tour around the globe: Europe Italy: Chiller for Cash & Carry Store air conditioning Indirect system 10 kg Propane per refrigerant circuit 2 x 255 kw, outdoor location Detection ATEX pressure switches & compressors
Tour around the globe: Europe The Netherlands: Refrigeration unit for mushroom storage (2.5 o C) 99 kg Propane, DX, 260 kw, outside enclosure 2 storage rooms Safety features (detection, exhaust ventilation, block-in valves, elimination of ignition sources) Comprehensive Risk Assessments
Tour around the globe: Europe Heat pumps in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Netherlands: Various manufacturers Small (domestic) heat pumps (mostly air source to water) Space heating and/or sanitary hot water (0.8 to 25 kw) Propane, charge up to 2.5 kg Gradually gaining more market share
Tour around the globe: Europe Belgium: Leading Retailer Chain Targeting 100% HC for refrigeration (2017) Medium capacity chiller (2,5kg Propane) Secondary glycol loop Standalone chest freezers (Iso-Butane)
Tour around the globe: Europe The Netherlands: Refrigeration unit for meat processing & storage Cascade system Propane/CO 2 50 kg Propane, DX, 260 kw (high stage) Outdoor enclosed unit 280 kg CO 2 (secondary thermal circulation circuit; 8 kw subcritical primary circuit) Processsing (2.5 o C, storage -26 o C) Safety features (detection, exhaust ventilation, block-in valves, elimination of ignition sources) Comprehensive Risk Assessments
REGULATIONS, CODES, STANDARDS & GUIDELINES
Regulations, codes, standards & guidelines Regulation ( You must ) law, order, rule or directive, made and maintained by a National/Europeanan authority Code ( You must ) collection or compendium of laws Standard ( You shall/should ) - Industry standard: a practice, method, process or criteria adopted as convention by industry members (CEN, CENELEC, ISO, IEC) - Harmonised standard: European standard (CEN, CENELEC) that provides solutions for compliance with a legal provision (e.g EU Directives, CE mark) Assumption of conformity Guideline: ( You may ) recommendation, instruction, direction, suggestion, advice; aims to streamline particular processes according to a set routine or sound practice
Hydrocarbon refrigerant regulations in Europe Europe: Directives (e.g. PED, MD, ATEX) => CE mark Attention for PED: HFO (A2L) and HC (A3) are in Fluid Group 1; most HFC (A1) are in Fluid Group 2. As a result, more stringent requirements for smaller equipment/components for flammables Regulations (i.e. F-gas Regulation) National: Safety is mainly subject to national regulations Extreme variety in national regulations National regulations may refer to standards and guidelines, then becoming part of these regulations No coordination/harmonisation between EU member states
Generic European standards from CEN/TC182: EN 378 EN 378:2016 Parts 1-4 Refrigerating systems and heat pumps. Safety and environmental requirements Part 2: Mandate given to CEN by the European Commission: Harmoised clauses mentioned in Table ZA1 and ZB1 provide a presumption of conformity with the corresponding Essential Requirements of Directive 2014/68/EU (PED) resp. Directive 2006/42/EU and amended Directive 95/16/EC (MD) A large set of sub-standards, for various equipment, components and topics, developed and maintained by CEN/TC182; parts are harmonized Note: ISO 5149:2014(/A1:2015) Refrigerating systems and heat pumps -- Safety and environmental requirements is similar to EN 378, although several essential differences exist; recommendation to use EN378
Product Standards IEC FDIS 60335-2-40:2017 Household and similar electrical appliances safety Part 2-40: Particular requirements for electrical heat pumps,air-conditioners and dehumidifiers IEC CDV 60335-2-89:2018 Household and similar electrical appliances safety Part 2-89: Particular requirements for commercial refrigerating appliances with an incorporated or remote refrigerant unit or compressor IEC 60335-2-24:2010/AMD2:2017/ISH1:2018 Household and similar electrical appliances - safety - Part 2-24: Particular requirements for refrigerating appliances, ice-cream appliances and ice makers (interpretation sheet 1 - Amendment 2)
Charge limits in standards Current charge limits are prohibitive and obstructive for HC Potential increase in charge limits currently under discussion (150 g HC charge (A3) to be increased to 500 g, under certain conditions) Any charge may be acceptable as long as safety measures are properly taken care of, based on adequate risk assessments In daily life, undefined quantities of flammable material are used without a concern just because it is taken for granted (e.g. highly flammable liquid in cars, BBQs, gas tanks in campers etc). Never compromise on safety!
CEN/TC-182: European Commission request COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of 14.11.2017 on a standardisation request to the European Committee for Standardisation and to the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation as regards use of flammable refrigerants in refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment Article 1 Requested standardisation activities CEN and Cenelec are requested to draft a European standardisation deliverable with technical specifications for the use of flammable refrigerants, in particular those classified as A3, in refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment. Request accepted by CEN/CENELEC, 24 November 2017
CEN/TC 182/WG 12 Flammable Refrigerants Standardisation Request M/555 (Liaison with CLC/TC 61 Safety of household and similar electrical appliances) Adhoc Group 1, Risk analysis Adhoc Group 2, Commercial Refrigeration Adhoc Group 3, Transport refrigeration Adhoc Group 4, Industrial Refrigeration Adhoc Group 5, Air conditioning and heat pumps Adhoc Group 6, Chillers 32 expert members from 10 countries, plus ECOS (NGO) Meetings in May and Nov 2018, Jan 2019 Deliverable ready by end 2020 deliverable with technical specifications for the use of flammable refrigerants, in particular A3
Project LIFE FRONT: (2017-2020) Flammable Refrigerant Options for Natural Technologies (FRONT) Improved standards & product design for their safe use (Funded under the EU s financial Programme LIFE) Aims to remove barriers posed by standards for flammable refrigerants Demonstration project, best-practices Improving system design addressing flammability risks Leakage size and simulation database for equipment using flammable refrigerants Testing of different configurations of equipment with increased refrigerant charge to determine to which extent is safe to operate with bigger amounts of flammable refrigerants Partners: AHT, AIT, NIBE, Environmental Citizens Organisation for Standardisation (ECOS), HEAT, Shecco (lead)
Skills, Training & Certification
Skills, Training & Certification Training for flammable refrigerants is top priority!! To be organised at national level (Origin/example: Dutch STEK methodology, since 1992!) Use competences to carry out specified activities from EN 13313:2010 Refrigerating systems and heat pumps Competence of personnel (pren 13313:2017, including new Annex E (informative) for flammable refrigerants) (EN) ISO/DIS 22712:2018 Refrigerating systems and heat pumps Competence of personnel)
Conclusions and a view on the future
Conclusions about regulations & standards: European regulations & directives are relatively clear, although generic Fragmented national regulations Use existing standards, where appropriate and practical Most standards are currently under revision; involvement through National Standardisation Committees! Additional, or alternative, to applying standards, apply thorough Risk Assessments
Generic conclusions and future outlook: Hydrocarbons are one of the major long-term refrigerants Vast majority of future refrigerants are flammable Therefore training is top priority (EN 13313) Certification of personnel and companies (similar to F- gases) Tell the true story about hydrocarbon refrigerants
Questions?.