ORLANDO, Fla. — Daikin Applied recently announced that it was transitioning many of its products to R-32, and Philip Johnston, general manager at the company, gave a press conference in which he discussed the reasons behind that decision.

“We believe that pure single component R-32, which is a single carbon molecule, is the most balanced and ideal refrigerant to replace R-410A for certain residential, light commercial, and applied applications,” he said. “It’s not just about the GWP of the refrigerant. An informed choice requires evaluation of environmental impact, cost-effectiveness, availability, recyclability, energy efficiency, safety, global experiences, and ease of use.”

To that end, Johnson noted that research showed that with R-32, Daikin Applied will be able to offer products that will outperform the current generation of R-410A products. He added that R-32 is not a new refrigerant, and it is a trusted commodity in the industry. In addition, there are no patents on the molecule, and there are no patents on the production process to make it, which helps make it more affordable.

“For those in the field, R-32 is simple, it’s stable, and inexpensive to install and maintain, because it is a single component refrigerant,” he said. “That matters, because it can be topped up, and it can be recharged in the field in both the liquid and gas phases without changes in the composition in that blend or mixture. It can easily be cleaned and reused right on site. R-32 can be reclaimed and recycled off site with a simpler cleaning process than blends.”

Because of its thermodynamic characteristics, an R-32 system will have 40 percent less charge than a system using R-410A, said Johnston. He noted that R-32 offers 10 percent more capacity than R-410A and is up to 8 percent more energy efficient than R-410A.

For all these reasons, Daikin decided that R-32 was the ideal choice to replace R-410A in many of its products.

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