Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine January 2024

HVACR NewsMagazine January 2024

Tech News

The discharge temperatures of R-32 will be a little higher and call for a thicker oil (POE-46), but the system pressures, temperatures, and efficiencies are all very similar. R-454B will use the same oil as R-410A: POE-32. Don Gillis wrote an article about oil best practices for these refrigerants, which you can read HERE. We can also use the same metals to manufacture and install systems. These A2L refrigerants don’t react harmfully with copper or anything like that, so we can reuse line sets (as long as those line sets comply with things like the manufacturer’s long lines guidelines). Despite the similarities, it will be illegal to retrofit A1 systems to accommodate A2L refrigerants. We can never change flammability classes when we retrofit systems. Most of the misunderstandings around A2L refrigerants deal with their flammability. While we think of A1s like R-22 and R- 410A as “non - flammable,” that’s not actually true. Refrigerants are tested in a lab under specific testing conditions. To be classified as an A1, a refrigerant must produce a flame that stays within a 90 degree angle. A2L refrigerants are just outside that 90-degree angle. From a flammability standpoint, A2Ls are much more similar to A1s (like R-22 and R 410A) than A2s. In a house fire, both A2Ls and A1s would most likely combust, but the mild flammability of A2Ls won’t be that much different from working with A1 refrigerants. There are absolutely no hydrocarbons (like propane or R-290) in A1 vs. A2L Flammability

A2L refrigerants or refrigerant blends; that’s a common misconception. You can see the different flammability ratings in action (A1, A2L, A2, and A3) in one of ESCO’s “Did You Know?” webcasts. It’s available on the ESCO Institute YouTube channel and the HVACR Learning Network. The HVACR Learning Network offers free viewing to everyone and the opportunity to earn NATE credits. The EPA published its final rule on October 24th, 2023. This rule contains restrictions on the use of HFCs starting in 2025. Self-contained HVAC systems using R-410A will no longer be manufactured or imported after January 1st, 2025, but there is a three-year sell through period. Self-contained or packaged units can be sold, exported, and installed through January 1st, 2028. At this time, split systems, defined as “field - assembled” systems in the final rule, can no longer be installed after January 1st, 2025. Some people and groups in the trade, including HARDI, are petitioning the EPA to make split systems follow the same timeline as packaged systems, allowing for a longer sell through period. VRF/V systems will have an installation ban after January 1st, 2026, and most industrial-process chillers similarly have sell-through periods. (Some chillers can be installed through January 1st, 2026, others by January 1st, 2028. The dates vary by application and exit fluid temperature.) Details of EPA Final Rule

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