The data used for these ratings has been validated by more than 100 hours of testing in SRC’s wind tunnel test lab. Several condenser and evaporator coils of various designs were tested under a range of steady-state conditions, resulting in reliable coil performance data across the full spectrum of typical HVAC application conditions.

“There are programs available that calculate the performance of a coil using R-454B, but we wanted to build a capability to facilitate quick and easy R-454B coil selection at a commercial scale.” said Dr. Jian Yu, SRC’s vice president of research and development. “And I feel that by building a formula using validated test data based on real-world HVAC conditions, this selection tool is especially valuable to users in the commercial HVAC industry who design coils every day.

“And, as we get closer to the end of industry mainstays like R-410A, I think our R-454B selection tool can help make that transition easier for users by giving them the ability to rate coils in a familiar way, without needing to learn new selection procedures or use multiple tools. Our goal was to create an accurate, quick, and user-friendly selection tool for a refrigerant with a very complicated performance profile, and I believe we’ve done that.”