WEST LAYFAYETTE, Ind. — The concurrent 21st International Compressor Engineering Conference, 14th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference, and the 2nd International High Performance Buildings Conference, most recently held this summer, showed how dramatically the issue of global warming is impacting the refrigerant aspect of the HVACR industry and how complex the issue is.
On one hand, few of the 347 papers presented had much to say about HFC refrigerants such as the familiar R-134a and R-410A other than to say that their perceived high global warming potential (GWP) could make them subject to a worldwide phase-down. One report speculated on a phase-down to 15 percent of current production levels by 2035 in developed countries such as the United States and Canada.