Global regulations coming into effect in the coming years will require manufacturers to find alternative refrigerants to meet new limitations. These new limitations are determined based on a refrigerant’s determined global warming potential (GWP), a measure of infrared energy the emissions of a gas will absorb relative to carbon dioxide (CO2). Unlike the complete phaseout and ban of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants R-12 and R-22, which went into effect on Jan. 1, in all cases, this new transition to lower GWP refrigerants is a phasedown. Existing products on the market will be able to continue using refrigerants, such as the common HFC, R-410A.
The current objective to comply with new regulations is to find a refrigerant with a GWP of less than 750. Many of the current lower GWP solutions that are desirable among manufacturers have properties that make them mildly flammable. The transition from the current traditional refrigerants to these alternatives requires additional precautions be taken when operating and storing equipment to mitigate hazards associated with refrigerant leaks.