Alternative Refrigerants for Building Air Conditioning

Abstract

The majority of building air conditioning has traditionally been achieved with vapor compression technology using CFC-I I or HCFC-22 as refrigerant fluids. CFC-11 is being successfully replaced by HCFC-123 (retrofit or new equipment) or by HFC- 134a (new equipment), but HCFC-123 is scheduled for phase-out longer term by provisions of the Montreal Protocol and the United States Clean Air Act. . Performance and environmental properties are presented for CFC-1 I alternatives HCFC-123, HFC- 134a, and HFC-245ca. HCFC-22 is also scheduled for phase-out, and three alternatives for HCFC-22 have been identified: HFC-134a, a near-azeotropic mixture of R32/Rl25, and a zeotropic mixture of R32/R125/R134a. Performance test results, future potential energy efficiencies, and environmental properties are presented for these alternative refrigerants.