KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Information on a new refrigerant with zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and low global warming potential is being gathered through research conducted by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). The refrigerant, R-245fa, is suitable for low-pressure water chillers typically used in large building air conditioning. Equipment also is being developed using R-245fa in other heat transfer and working fluid applications.

ASHRAE approved funding totaling $986,953 for eight research projects in the areas of indoor air quality, comfort and health, energy conservation, operating and maintenance tools, environmentally safe materials, and design tools at its 2003 Annual Meeting. Among the projects is 1256-TRP, Thermophysical Properties of R-245fa. The principal investigator is Alexandre Grebenkov, Ph.D., Institute of Power Engineering Problems, Sosny, Minsk, Republic of Belarus. The project is expected to take 10 months to complete at a cost of $55,500. It is sponsored by ASHRAE Technical Committee 3.1, Refrigerants and Secondary Coolants.

The project’s researchers plan to provide accurate thermodynamic and transport property data. The two primary sources of such data, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Honeywell, disagree on the properties of R-245fa, making it difficult for equipment manufacturers to decide which data to use, according to Grebenkov.