This article focuses on the retrofitting of HFC refrigerants into systems designed for use with HCFC-22. There are now a wide range of HFC retrofit refrigerants for a wide range of R-22 applications from air conditioning through refrigeration.

This past fall, the automobile manufacturer Daimler came out saying it was holding off using HFO-1234yf for auto air conditioning even though a directive from the European Union was calling for moving away from HFC-134a. Some saw that as a question about how much traction HFOs were getting as long-term alternatives to HFCs.

Rajan Rajendran has garnered recognition as one of the leading experts on the use of alternative refrigerants. His knowledge and ability has gained him recognition as one of The NEWS’ 2012 NEWSMakers.

Two new reports that provide detailed studies of refrigerants have recently been released. The research is evaluating how newer refrigerants — ranging from HFC and HFO f-gases to natural refrigerants such as ammonia, CO2, and HCs — stack up against the current crop of popular refrigerants.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new computational method for identifying candidate refrigerant fluids with low global warming potential (GWP). The new method was used to identify promising low-GWP chemicals.

Alternative low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants will be presented at the ASHRAE/NIST 2012 Refrigerants Conference: “Moving toward Sustainability,” Oct. 29-30.

A joint conference focused on refrigerants and hosted by ASHRAE and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been announced for October 2012.

R-22 Retrofit App offered by Honeywell International Inc.

Vehicle thermal management software aids in a/c system design and predicting performance. It allows engineers to access the required tools and libraries to build simulation models, run simulations, and display results graphically.