How To Choose The Right Refrigerant Gas for Different Equipment?

Selecting the correct refrigerant is a critical decision that impacts the efficiency, cost, environmental footprint, and safety of any cooling system. It is not a one-size-fits-all choice. The right refrigerant for a massive industrial chiller is vastly different from that used in a home air conditioner or a car's AC system. This guide, synthesizing current industry data and practices, will help you understand the key factors to consider when choosing a refrigerant for different types of equipment.

 

The choice hinges on a balance of four primary factors: Environmental Impact, Safety, Performance, and Regulatory Compliance.

The environmental profile of a refrigerant is the foremost consideration in today's world, driven by international agreements like the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP): This measures a substance's ability to destroy the ozone layer. Refrigerants like R22 (HCFC) have an ODP > 0 and are being phased out globally. Modern choices must have an ODP of zero.

Global Warming Potential (GWP): This measures a gas's heat-trapping effect in the atmosphere compared to CO₂. The industry is now shifting away from high-GWP HFCs (e.g., R410A GWP=2088, R134a GWP=1430) toward options with low or ultra-low GWP.

Application Insight: For new equipment, prioritizing zero ODP and low GWP is essential. Natural refrigerants like CO₂ (GWP=1) and Hydrocarbons (R290, R600a, GWP≈3) are ideal environmentally but come with other constraints.

Refrigerants are classified by ASHRAE Standard 34 based on their toxicity and flammability.

Toxicity: Class A (lower toxicity) vs. Class B (higher toxicity). Most common refrigerants are Class A.

Flammability: Class 1 (no flame propagation), Class 2L (mildly flammable), Class 2 (flammable), Class 3 (highly flammable).

Application Insight:

Public & Dense Areas: For large buildings, hospitals, and supermarkets, non-flammable (A1) refrigerants like R134a or R123 have been traditional choices, though the trend is moving toward lower-GWP A1 options or carefully engineered A2L (mildly flammable) systems like those using R32.

Industrial Settings: In well-ventilated industrial plants, Ammonia (R717, B2L) remains a top choice for large-scale refrigeration due to its excellent efficiency and zero GWP, despite its toxicity and flammability at certain concentrations.

Limited Charge Systems: For household appliances and split AC units, flammable hydrocarbons (A3) like R290 can be used safely but with strict limits on the refrigerant charge amount contained within the system.

The refrigerant must be technically suitable for the equipment's operating conditions.

Operating Pressure: Refrigerants like R410A and R32 operate at much higher pressures than R22. Equipment must be specifically designed with stronger components to handle this.

Capacity and Efficiency: Some refrigerants are better suited for certain temperature ranges.

R134a excels in medium-temperature applications like auto AC and commercial chillers.

CO₂ (R744) operates at very high pressure but is exceptionally efficient for heat pump water heaters and commercial refrigeration in colder climates.

R404A (a high-GWP HFC blend) was the standard for low-temperature commercial freezing but is now being replaced by HFO blends and natural options.

You must choose a refrigerant that is legal to use in your region. Many countries have strict phase-down schedules for high-GWP HFCs. Investing in equipment that uses a refrigerant on the path to being phased out can lead to future cost spikes and availability issues.

At present, the refrigerants used in various products in China are as follows:

1. Small Chiller (Heat Pump) Units
Use R22, R410A, and R32. This shows a transitionary phase. R22 represents older or cost-focused systems, R410A represents the recent standard for higher efficiency, and R32 represents the newer, lower-global-warming-potential (GWP) alternative.

2. Large and Medium Chiller (Heat Pump) Units
Use R22, R123, R134a, and HFOs. This diversity reflects the varied applications and scale of these units. R123 is used in low-pressure centrifugal chillers, R134a is a common standard for newer centrifugal and screw chillers, and HFOs (like R1233zd or R1234ze) represent the latest ultra-low GWP solutions for cutting-edge, sustainable equipment.

3. Heat Pump Water Heaters
Use R22, R134a, R410A, R407C, CO₂, and R32. The inclusion of CO₂ (R744) is particularly notable, as it is a natural refrigerant with excellent performance in hot water generation. The mix of R22, R410A, R407C, and R32 shows a similar pattern to air conditioning, spanning old, current, and next-generation options.

4. Unit Air Conditioners
Use R22, R142b, R410A, R407C, and R32. The presence of R142b, another HCFC like R22, is less common today but indicates its historical use in specific high-ambient-temperature unit designs. The shift toward R410A and R32 is the dominant trend here.

5. Multi-Connected AC (Heat Pump) Units (VRF Systems)
Use R410A and R32. Multi-split VRF systems demand high efficiency and reliability, which made R410A the perfect fit for over a decade. The industry is now clearly moving towards R32 as the successor due to its lower GWP while maintaining similar performance characteristics.

6. Refrigeration Equipment and Compression Condensing Units
Use R22, R134a, R404A, NH₃ (Ammonia), CO₂ (Carbon Dioxide), R290 (Propane), R600a (Isobutane), and HFOs. This highlights the wide range of temperatures and applications in commercial and industrial refrigeration. It shows a clear shift from HFCs like R404A to natural refrigerants like Ammonia, CO₂, and hydrocarbons (R290, R600a), alongside new HFO blends.

7. Household Air Conditioners
Use R22, R410A, R32, and R290. This captures the entire evolution path: from the old standard R22, to the high-pressure standard R410A, to the new lower-GWP frontrunner R32, and finally to the ultra-low-GWP natural refrigerant R290 (propane), which is gaining significant traction in the Chinese market.

8. Automotive Air Conditioning
Automotive air conditioning is use a single refrigerant: R134a. This indicates that despite a global shift towards HFO-1234yf in Europe and North America, R134a remains the primary refrigerant for the automotive industry within the Chinese market reflected in this data.

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