Abstract
This study provides a global warming impact analysis of environmentally friendly refrigerants used as replacements for R134a and R245fa. R290, R1234yf, R1234ze(E), R513A and R450A are considered as refrigerants to replace R134a in medium temperature applications. For R245fa, there are five alternative refrigerants, R1224yd(Z), R600, R1336mzz(Z), R1233zd(E) and R1234ze(Z), which are selected for high-temperature applications. The analysis is done considering the emission factors in Brazil, Sweden, Canada and Poland. In Sweden and Brazil, the total equivalent warming impact per heating capacity of R134a is higher than its alternative refrigerants in medium temperature application, although R134a exhibits a higher coefficient of performance than its alternatives. In high-temperature applications, R1336mzz(Z) has the lowest total equivalent warming impact per heating capacity due to its higher coefficient of performance than other tested refrigerants. The highest total equivalent warming impact per heating capacity belongs to R245fa in all countries except in Poland, where R600 exhibits a higher value due to its lower coefficient of performance and the relatively higher emission factor in Poland compared to other selected countries. These results revealed that in addition to the global warming potential, the emission factor associated with the sources of electricity generation has a crucial impact on indirect emissions.
Highlights
According to the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), 37% of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions were related to indirect emissions caused by electricity consumption of the refrigeration systems and 37% was related to direct emissions due to the escapes of refrigerants [3,4]
The aim of this work is to promote the utilization of the Total Equivalent Warming Impact (TEWI) metric to describe the influence of different alternative refrigerants on the warming impact of heat pump systems
The comparison between R134a and its five selected alternative refrigerants was made in a medium temperature heat pump (MTHP)
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. It is confirmed that the human-made emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) are responsible for climate change [1]. One of the sectors with a noticeable contribution to GHGs emissions is the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump (RACHP) sector. It is estimated that the RACHP sector was responsible for 349 MtCO2 -eq in 2010 and is predicted to pass 1596 MtCO2 -eq in 2030 [2]. According to the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), 37% of GHG emissions were related to indirect emissions caused by electricity consumption of the refrigeration systems and 37% was related to direct emissions due to the escapes of refrigerants [3,4]
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