Will the transition away from HCFC-22 be as bumpy as the one managers grappled with over CFC-12?

The world ’s most popular refrigerant, HCFC-22 —or R-22 —is facing a number of phaseout dates in the near future.

In 2010, HVAC manufacturers no longer will be able to make new equipment that operates with R-22. And in 2020, refrigerant manufacturers no longer will be able to make R-22 itself. Existing R-22 machines still will be able to be serviced with existing stocks of reclaimed R-22.

How concerned should maintenance and engineering managers be about these deadlines? Will R-22 follow a pattern of shrinking supplies and rising prices, as did CFC-12, or R-12?

The answer to both questions is no. But the reality is that now is the time to start planning for conversion over to non-HCFC alternatives.

Managers should be able to find plenty of R-22 to service existing equipment, but they also should begin to consider the decision on whether to stay with R-22 or switch to more efficient, non-R-22 machines in the near future.

R-22:Where it ’s at
Managers have no reason to panic, but they do need to start planning for the future phaseout of R-22, according to a U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official.

But industry experts appear to differ as to the urgency to do this.

“We are seeing a significant effort on the part of the OEMs to convert their lines to R-410A,” says David Metcalf,marketing manager for Honeywell Genetron Refrigerants. R-410A is the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) alternative refrigerant for R-22. But Metcalf ’s belief isn ’t shared throughout the industry.

“We ’re not seeing a large movement toward R-410A yet,” says Matt Ricketts, aftermarket refrigerant manager for Atofina.

But the residential market may be the bellwether here, because most of the R-22 and likely most of the stock of R-410A will end up there. And at least according to Metcalf, several large residential builders are considering R-410A for their baseline systems and may trigger a real manufacturer push for that alternative.

HCFC production caps also take effect in 2004 and might effect R-22, but that is not likely, in part because demand for R-22 has not even met the current cap on production. And the cuts should be made up by banning the production of HCFC-141b and HCFC-142b, not by further cutting R- 22 production. Both HCFC-141b and HCFC-142b are used as blowing agents in making foam products. Production will be cut drastically after 2010, but so will production of new equipment.

At present it appears there will be enough R-22 to meet demand to 2020.

Prices for R-22 also should not get out of hand. Even after the phaseout date of 2010 for new equipment, the price for an R-22 drop-in replacement, HFC-407C or R-407C, and for R-22 itself should not be much different, Ricketts says.

According to Metcalf, the price could be around $5-$7 per pound, which also should be the approximate price for R-407C. So after manufacturers are banned from producing new equipment that uses R-22,managers shouldn ’t encounter a great deal of price pressure to switch to R- 407C.

Easing the phaseout of R-22 is the lack of competition with the automotive industry for refrigerant.Such competition helped make the phaseout of R-12 a nightmare. In the past,the automobile industry helped create a short supply of R-12, with its notoriously leaking equipment, says Larry Schoen, principal of Schoen Engineering and a consultant to the Building Owners and Managers Association.

Price hikes associated with R-12 were a function of supply and demand, as well as of excise taxes assessed on CFCs. Because unitary equipment generally leaks less than automobile air-conditioning equipment, it would be reasonable to expect a smaller price increase for R-22, the EPA says.

“Rooftop equipment is small and lasts maybe 10 years,” Schoen says.“ It seems conceivable to me that even if a manager had only five package units,that when one is replaced, he would have plenty of refrigerant to keep the existing units working ” —if the refrigerant is reclaimed properly.

Many unknowns remain, however. For example,what effect will production caps,leak rates,refrigerant recovery,and rising demand in other markets have?

Managers with R-22 machines,which include many package units and reciprocating and screw chillers, should begin investigating their options.

Managers should not make a decision to specify chiller equipment based on whether R-22 will be available or not, Schoen says. Instead, they should base the decision on such factors as the vendor,equipment efficiency,application and capacity.

“These are the things that will make a difference,” he says.

Alternatives to R-22
Already, a number of key alternatives exist to R-22, including the drop-in replacement, R-407C, and the new equipment alternative, R-410A. These refrigerants are produced by a number of manufacturers and fall under a number of different trade names.

R-407C is a blend of three refrigerants, HFC-32, HFC- 125, and HFC-134a. Because the different components respond to temperature and pressure differently, R-407C is called zeotropic, and it is subject to temperature glide as different components of the blend fractionate or boil off sooner than others.

This characteristic can create problems. It makes it difficult to maintain a consistent temperature and creates problems with coils freezing. It also means that the composition of the refrigerant can change over time as some components leak out sooner than others, requiring technicians to top off the entire charge or replace it more often.

The good and the bad
Fractionation could create additional problems besides efficiency and glide. A change in the composition of the blend can affect flammability and other safety aspects of a refrigerant, as well as equipment performance, an EPA official says.

R-407C also might offer lower efficiency rates. Compared with R-22, R-407C offers a 4.7 percent decrease in coefficient of performance (COP). But R-407C does match R-22 closely when it comes to pressure and capacity.

A lower COP for R-407C isn ’t certain; careful design of equipment might make up for some losses.

COPs generally are measured using a few sets of representative conditions. If a building ’s air-conditioning system operates in a different environment, it might be that R-407C will offer an advantage over other alternatives.

One advantage of R-407C over R-410A or other non-HCFC refrigerants is that it is almost a imple drop-in. The major change to a system is the move from a mineral-oil-based lubricant to a polyol ester oil (POE).

Few experts believe R-407C will make much of a dent in the R-22 market in this country. In fact, Atofina expects almost no demand in this country for R-407C, Ricketts says. All of the demand will come from Europe, where the phaseout dates for R-22 have been moved ahead of equipment availability for alternative refrigerants.

New equipment
R-410A is the major alternative to R-22 for new equipment,but it cannot be used as a drop-in replacement because it has a much higher vapor pressure than R-22 —60 percent higher. At 90 degrees, R-22 is at about 168 pounds of pressure, and R-410A is at about 274 pounds.
An R-22 machine ’s existing compressor couldn ’t handle the pressure needs of R-410A, and the motor would likely overload. Also, R-410A requires POE lubricants.

R-410A also is a blend of two refrigerants, HFC- 32 and HFC-125, and is zeotropic. But it does function as a nearly pure material and, therefore, is much less zeotropic than R-407C.

Switching to R-410A could increase efficiency. R-410A, relative to R-22, can offer a 5.3 percent increase in COP. And because of the higher pressure, manufacturers have opportunities to make design changes to further increase efficiency.

But the switch to R-410A is happening slowly, and one reason for this might be the availability of another popular HFC refrigerant for package units.

Gus Rolotti, technical manager for refrigerants at Atofina, says R-134a can do many of the same things R-410A can, and R-134a equipment has been around for awhile. But it is not the perfect solution either, he says.

“What you lose with 134a is capacity,” Rolotti says.“ 134a has a 30 to 40 percent capacity drop, relative to 22.” This would be a concern for managers who have well-defined and limited space for new equipment,because the 134a equipment will take up more space, he says.

“Up to 35 tons, I would consider 410, and beyond that, I would consider 134a,” he says.

Other refrigerants are also in use, as are several “not in kind ” technologies, such as evaporative cooling and desiccant dehumidification, that can reduce the need for refrigerant-based equipment.

Managers have alternatives to the alternatives,so the transition from HCFCs to HFCs should look nothing like the transition away from CFCs.

Combined with careful planning and proper refrigerant handling on the part of managers and HVAC technicians,the United States should be able to make a smooth transition away from ozone-depleting technologies.

Above article appeared previously in the November 2001 issue of Maintenance Solutions. Mr.David Kozlowski can be reached by e-mail at david.kozlowski@tradepress.com.



First published February 2002