The Future of HVAC Refrigerant
R-454b will be the New Refrigerant Starting January 1st, 2023, and looks like this will be the refrigerant of the future over the next 15 years. This refrigerant will be new and different for all, and technicians will need to be certified and trained for residential application.
In 2008 the HVAC industry was coming into a time of transition. The industry was changing from systems that had R-22 refrigerant circulating through their lines to R-410a. This new refrigerant has no chlorine in it, which R-22 had. When chemicals like chlorine rise into the atmosphere in the form of an HVAC system leaking refrigerant, it damages the ozone layer. The new clean air standards will not allow you to use anything that may damage that ozone layer and speed up global warming.
The new refrigerant coming very soon is R-454b, also known as Opteon XL41. When you talk to residential homeowners and they say the technician was talking about the “new” R-410 refrigerant, in my mind, you already know that 410 will be phased out very soon just like R-22 was phased out.
Environmentalists found the “new” R-410a has less ozone depletion potential (ODP) since it doesn’t carry chlorine in its composition. But the global warming potential (GWP) of it was still too high. In fact, the “new” R-410a’s GWP is higher than the old R-22! This will not cut it under the new standards agreed to in the Paris Accord.
In response to this, manufacturers have been trying to figure out a better refrigerant to use that achieves 2 goals
- with no ozone depletion potential
- one with less global warming potential.
Let’s take a step back and look at how these gases have changed over the years. The refrigerant R-12 was commonly used to cool houses before R-22 took its place. Then, R-22 was replaced by the new R-410a as recently as 2008. Now, 15 years later, R-410a is being replaced by R-32 and R-454b.
The goal is to get the global warming potential of refrigerants below 500.
Halons were once used for fire suppression for sensitive items like IT rooms, data centers, art museums, and libraries that would otherwise be damaged by sprinkler systems. But they are banned now and being replaced by new technology suppression systems. I give you that information as a reference to the refrigerants used in the HVAC industry. They’re not as bad, but much more refrigerant is released into the atmosphere than fire suppression halons.
Even though R-22 only has an ODP of 0.5 per metric ton, its effect on the ozone layer isn’t suitable for future generations or in compliance with the Paris Accord. The “new” R-410a has no ODP, it has a little higher global warming potential than R-22
R-454b offers pressures much more like R-410a and requires a little bit less of a charge. A GWP below 500 will likely become the industry standard soon, so it makes sense to choose R-454b now.
Although R-32 may be acceptable short term, long term it will go by the wayside like its predecessors as it has GWP over 600.
The new refrigerants are not up to current residential building code standards so if we’re going to be using this refrigerant, some things will have to change. Most importantly, the residential codes that are currently in effect. Nothing in it allows for the use of mildly flammable (A2L) refrigerants to be used in residential cooling systems.
Mildly flammable refrigerants (A2L) cannot be used in existing R-410a and R-22 systems. Compressors must be upgraded. Systems designed for R-454b will require less of a charge than today’s R-410a systems and will be about 5% more efficient than current refrigerants. 410a systems will need some extra protection and usage standards not used in today’s equipment. So, if people think they’re just going to drop in some XL41 into 410a systems, which do operate at similar pressures, they have some more training to do.
The EPA has approved the refrigerant for use in light commercial and residential applications for new equipment. Therefore, the major brands are already planning for new equipment in the future to use the new refrigerant on January 1st, 2023, which is the date the 2022 California Energy Code begins. If manufacturers must start making it for California, they are not going to keep making 410a systems and 454b systems. Essentially, when this happens in states like California and Washington, it will happen around the rest of the country too.
Be proactive and prepare for these changes along with getting info from your suppliers on the new equipment on how to install and how to maintain this equipment for your client base.
New refrigerant training will be required. There are already classes created that will teach today’s technicians all about the new refrigerant. Organizations like AHRI and ESCO are already certified to offer classes. NATE will also have certification testing available for technicians. Even though we’ll be using the same types of equipment to handle XL41, they must be approved for use with mildly flammable (A2L) refrigerants, which use features like fans to dissipate fumes from the electric motors. For that reason by itself training and certification is needed. All this training will cover safety, as well as requirements for proper installation and maintenance of equipment that use mildly flammable refrigerants (A2L).
Will R-22 and R-410a still be available to service existing HVAC equipment? Absolutely but some HVAC companies will use this as an opportunity to convince the unsuspecting customer that R-22 and R-410 are “illegal” to use now, and they can’t repair their existing system. DO NOT use those deceitful sales practices. Remember integrity is a must in our industry. Hold all your people to the highest standard possible. Warehouses will be full of perfectly legal R-22 and other alternative replacements for R-22 until at least 2030. And 410a will be available for much longer. The new protocols that are in effect to stop global warming are there to phase out the production of new, virgin refrigerants. Recycled refrigerants and current inventory will be around much longer after they stop making it.
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