The NEWS - February 18, 2008 - (Page 30)

FOCUS Manufacturers of high performance tubing Replacement tubes in stock or made to your specification for: ◆ ◆ AHR EXPO POST-SHOW ISSUE: REFRIGERANTS Carrier Trane ◆ York ◆ McQuay ◆ Dunham-Bush ALL Alloys Available Centrifugal, Absorption, and Reciprocating tubes available in days, not weeks. Trying to End the Love Affair With R-22 By Peter Powell Of The NEWS Staff For a quick quotation, call us toll-free (877) 966-TUBE or FAX (909) 590-3446. eProduct #21 at achrnews.com EW YORK — Figuring out what refrigerants contractors will be using in the years ahead and for how long remains an issue in flux, based on presentations and conversations at the 2008 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo). Here are some general impressions after walking the floor for three days. N • The use of HCFC-22, which the industry hoped would be on the decline, has actually been increasing, thus raising the likelihood of an R-22 shortfall much sooner than later. More and more of those on the show floor were looking at 2010 as the shortfall year, rather than the previously anticipated 2015. • To cope with R-22 equipment in the field, a number of refrigerant manufacturers are offering nonHCFC refrigerants that are not subject to phaseout, as is R-22. These encompass HFCs and HFC/HCs, the latter of which contain a small amount of propane or isobutene. In general, these are not “one-sizefits-all” solutions, meaning that the application range of any one refrigerant may not be as broad as R-22. Contractors are being strongly encouraged to check with each manufacturer about capabilities and limitations of each refrigerant. • Compounding the issue is little effort on the part of contractors to bring back recovered R-22 for off-site reclamation. The best guess is less than 10 percent of all the R-22 that could come back for reclaim is actually coming back. This is adding to the concern about aftermarket R-22 supplies. (The March 13 issue of The NEWS will take a detailed look at refrigerant reclamation issues.) USING TOO MUCH 22 “Today’s demand for R-22 is higher than what was expected in 1998 when the phaseout of R-22 started,” according to a statement issued by Honeywell (www. honeywell.com/genetron). “While a number of non-ozonedepleting compounds have been available for many years, R-22 equipment is still the best seller. New equipment and an evergrowing installed base are driving market demand for R-22 to historically high levels.” The Honeywell statement said causes include a strong economy driving sales of familiar R-22 air conditioning equipment, the 13 SEER mandate (“which has increased refrigerant charge size by 30 percent on average”), a slower transition to HFC-410A than anticipated, and “uncertainty around the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2010 decision on how much R-22 to allow for (aftermarket) a/c and refrig- eration applications.” All this is happening despite what Honeywell noted were rapidly rising costs of R-22 that will result “in aging equipment becoming more expensive to operate and maintain.” The manufacturer urged contractors to “begin to recommend to their customers a change to alternative refrigerants that are 100 percent non-ozone depleting and are not subject to phaseout.” The company recommended R-410A, -404A, -507, -407C, and -422D, as well as stepped-up reclamation efforts. During a press briefing at the expo by DuPont Refrigerants (www.refrigerants.dupont.com), Kevin O’Shea, North America marketing manager, said that in 2007, “75 percent of new equipment was R-22-based,” despite the phaseout plans for production of virgin R-22. Also during the briefing, Dianne Iuliano Picho, global business manager, drew attention to that phase down. “In about 100 weeks, we expect the HVACR industry will experience an increasingly tight supply of R-22, as well as available labor to support the transition to alternatives. Implementing immediate reclamation and recovery practices, and proactively transitioning to HFC as an alternative, is critical. Transitioning to alternatives now, rather than in an emergency, is environmentally responsive and just makes good business sense,” she said. The presenters drew attention to its company’s line of Isceon® refrigerants that are HFC/HCs, which can be retrofitted into equipment that had been running on HCFCs. BEYOND R-22 A number of manufacturers on the show floor echoed the same message of the Honeywell and DuPont presentations and offered their own responses to the dynamics of the refrigerant market. ICOR International (www.icor international.com) featured HFC/ HC-422C, which it markets as One Shot®, “one of the most affordable non-ozone depleting low-temperature refrigerants on the market today.” The refrigerant works with mineral oil, the company said. Arkema (www.arkema.com) introduced refrigerant HFC-427A, which does not have a hydrocar■ Amcor021808.indd 1 eProduct #25 at achrnews.com 2/6/08 12:58:08 PM 30 AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING & REFRIGERATION NEWS February 18, 2008 http://www.ccs-tubes.com http://WWW.ACHRNEWS.COM http://www.amcorgroupusa.com http://www.amcorgroupusa.com http://WWW.ACHRNEWS.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The NEWS - February 18, 2008

The NEWS - February 18, 2008 Turnout Contents Newsline FYI Unitary Oil-Fired Products Furnaces Hydronics Ductless Rooftops Drives & Motors Controls Transmitters, Sensors Zoning Valves Refrigerants Condensers & Coils Heat Exchangers Cooling Towers Chillers Duct Products Humidification IAQ Monitors, Instruments Trucks Tools Software Installation, Maintenance of HVAC Coils Munters MCS Dries Up Water Concerns at Hospital Michigan Home Show Brings out Contractors Investigating Furnace Failures Mold/Bacteria Protection of A/C Coil Learning Center Classifieds Advertisers Opinions

The NEWS - February 18, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.