R32, a more environmentally friendly refrigerant with a low Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 650, has arrived on Australian shores. R32 air conditioning technology will be in UK by next year, says Daikin.
Over the last 12 months, Japanese split system air conditioning manufacturers have increasingly been developing air conditioners that will operate on R32 refrigerant with a view to releasing these for sale to the Australian Market, according to a report from CoolChange Newsletter.
Some of the benefits of R32 include lower refrigerant cost than R410A, better performance at higher ambient conditions, similar pressure and pressure ratios, lower system charge requirement and lower mass flow; higher liquid thermal conductivity, higher heat transfer coefficient at same mass flux and; the potential to optimize heat exchanger with smaller tube volume for further charge reduction.
In preparation for the arrival of R32 the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) issued an advisory to technicians in its CoolChange Newsletter. It referred technicians to the Flammable Refrigerants Safety Guide released by the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH). The guide is available for download from the “technical resources” section of www.airah.org.au.
According to Peter Verkempynk, managing director of Daikin UK, AC giant Daikin willl launch the first units with the mildy flammable lower-GWP refrigerant R32 next year. The first range will be units up to 6 kW, followed by up to 16 kW units in 2016, RAC News reported.
“It is our responsibility to make sure that people know how to handle R32. And therefore we will be ensuring that installers are trained appropriately”, said by Mr Verkempynk.