Refrigeration Regulations, Outlook, Transitions & Alternatives

Charles Allgood, PhDSenior Technical Service ConsultantDuPont ISCEON® Refrigerants

ASHRAE Meeting 11 November 2008

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59WEEKS LEFT

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Agenda

Regulatory – Clean Air Act

Business Outlook – Managing the R22 phase out

Transition – Options and Alternatives

Call to Action – The time to act is now

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R-22 is going away

Important Facts

1. 62% Supply Reduction Jan 2010

2. 2010 demand matches supply

no room for supply error

3. 2015 demand exceeds supply by more than 22 Million pounds

Estimated US R22 Supply Demand for AC & Refrigeration

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

2007 2010 2015

Mill

ion

sQ

ua

nti

ty (

mil

lio

n l

bs

)

Total R22 ConsumptionAllocation (lbs)

AC & RefrigerationService DemandEstimate (lbs)

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Compliance Requirements of the Clean Air Act

For Systems Containing 50 lb. + Refrigerant Charge Size

A 35% Maximum Leak Rate for Refrigeration, 15% AC

Maintain Accurate Records When Adding Refrigerant

Refrigerant Addition Determines Leak RateFor Example: Top off a charge with 3% refrigerant, if only 30 days since last service this equates to a 36% leak rate

Equipment owners legally responsible for maintenance/records but most look to their service contractors for assistance

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Penalties for Violating the Clean Air Act

Equipment Owners: (Example: Supermarkets)

Recordkeeping Violation $32,500/day Maximum Fine

Leak Rate Violation $32,500/day Maximum Fine

Up to $65,000/day

Producers and Importers: (Example: DuPont)

Consumption Allocation Violation $32,500/kilogram

$1.8 Million per 125/lb cylinder of R-22

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Clean Air Act: Summary of Impacts

HCFC supply demand imbalance is likely in 2010

Potential implications of doing nothing:

Interruptions to business if R-22 is not available

Uncertainty of R-22 price behavior

Cost / Availability of retrofit labor

Unplanned changes to Maintenance and Remodeling budgets

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Six R’s for Refrigerant Management

Recordkeeping

Repair leaks

Recover / Recycle

Reclaim

Retire old equipment; Specify new equipment with Non Ozone Depleting refrigerants

Retrofit existing equipment to Non Ozone Depleting refrigerants

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The Business Case for Switching Out R-22

R-22 is going away62% Reduction in supply January 1, 2010, R-22 demand is strong

“Advanced” Refrigeration is Expensive per Ton CO2ei.e. Secondary Loop Technology

Retrofit Refrigerants offer the Lowest Total CostInvest precious resources in higher ROI actions

Retrofits provide a low cost supply of R-22

R-22 Prices in the future likely to be volatileOver 500% price increases in R-22 since January 2003

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HCFC-22 Cylinder Pricing**DuPont Sales Price Indexed to Jan 2003

100%

150%

200%

250%

300%

350%

400%

450%

500%

550%

% P

ric

e In

cre

as

eR-22 Prices in the future likely to be volatile

R22 prices have increased more

than 500% since January 2003

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Managing the Transition

The Value Delivered by Retrofits

Refrigerant Options and Performance

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How Retrofitting Delivers Value

Supermarket Example:

Replace refrigeration equipment ~ $250,000 / Rack

Retrofit refrigeration equipment ~ $13,000 - $35,000 / Rack

Use reclaimed R-22 to service another store for ~ 5 years

Retrofitting early can help ease potential labor shortage

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Leading Retrofit Refrigerants for R-22 R-422D and R-422A

Refrigerant Composition

R-422D HFC-125/HFC-134a/HC-600a (65.1/31.5/3.4)

R-422A HFC-125/HFC-134a/HC-600a (85.1/11/5/3.4)

•R-422D preferred for R-22 systems (no TXV changes likely; Engineering Assessment recommended)

•R-422A is preferred for R-502/R-402A/R-408A systems (no TXV changes likely); also can be used for low temp R-22 systems (TXV change needed)

Advantages:

•Easy to use

• Reliable

• Cost-effective

• Non-ozone-depleting

• Compatible with mineral, alkyl benzene and polyol ester lubricants; hydrocarbon aids oil return of mineral oil

• Provides similar system performance

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Refrigerant Safety/Environmental Properties

ASHRAE

Refrigerant: ODP GWP (SAR 100yr.) Safety Group

R-22 0.055 1500 A1

R-422D 0 2232 A1

R-422A 0 2532 A1

R-404A 0 3260 A1

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Condenser Pressure vs Condenser Temperature(based on 20°F Evaporator, no subcooling)

200

250

300

350

400

450

100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145

Average Condenser Temperature (°F)

Co

nd

ense

r P

ress

ure

(p

sia)

R22

R404A

R422A

R422D

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Evaporator Pressure vs Evaporator Temperature(based on 105°F Condenser, subcool liquid to 95°F)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50

Average Evaporator Temperature (°F)

Eva

po

rato

r P

ress

ure

(p

sia)

R-22

R-404A

R-422A

R-422D

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Summary of Calorimeter Data with 10ºF SC

*Results with reciprocating compressor. Represents performance based on compressor capacity only; does not include heat transfer effects, etc. R-22 assumes liquid injection at low temp. No liquid injection for R-404A, R-422A, or R-422D.

Cooling Capacity vs R-22

EER vs R-22

Low Temp (–25º/105ºF)

R-404A +33% +15%

R-422A +29% +13%

R-422D +8% +14%

Med. Temp (+20º/120ºF)

R-404A +7% -3%

R-422A Same as R-22 -7%

R-422D -5% Same as R-22

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Summary of Retrofit Procedures

1. Establish Baseline Performance with Existing Refrigerant & repair if necessary

2. Remove Existing Refrigerant from System

3. Replace Filter Dryer, Elastomeric Seals/Gaskets, & Other Equipment/Components Identified in Preplanning (Ball Valves, Schrader Cores, TXV’s, etc.)

4. Evacuate System and Check for Leaks

5. Charge with R-422D or R-422A (Remove liquid only from cylinder)

6. Start up System and optimize performance (adjust TXVs, refrigerant charge, etc.)

7. Monitor oil levels to maintain desired level in oil reservoir

8. Label System for R-422D or R-422A

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• Discharge pressure (psi) • +10 - low temperature*

• +12 - medium temperature**

•Discharge temperature (°F)• -31 - low temperature*

• -66 - medium temperature**

• Estimated cooling capacity (%)• +8 - low temperature*

• -5 - medium temperature**

• Estimated EER (%)• +14 - low temperature*

• same - medium temperature**

*low temp: -25°F evaporator; 105°F condenser; 65°F return gas; 10°F subcooling.

**medium temp: -20°F evaporator; 120°F condenser; 65°F return gas; 10°F subcooling

R-22 assumes liquid injection at low temp

***Based on thermocycle model calculations and calorimeter data. Actual results may vary due to system design and operating conditions.

What to Expect After Retrofit from R-22 to R-422D***

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R-422D Retrofit from R-22 - Medium Temp Rack (NE US Supermarket) Energy Consumption

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

7/2 7/12 7/22 8/1 8/11 8/21 8/31 9/10 9/20 9/30 10/10

Date

Co

mp

ress

or

kWh

/day

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Tem

per

atu

re (

°F)

Compressor kWh Ambient T

Retrofit 8/20-8/21/06No TXV ChangeNo Oil Change

R-22 R-422D

Comparable Energy Consumption for MT

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R-422D Retrofit from R-22 - Medium Temp Rack (NE US Supermarket)

Compressor kWh vs Ambient T

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Ambient Temperature (°F)

Co

mp

ress

or

En

erg

y C

on

sum

pti

on

(kW

h/d

ay)

R-22 kWh R-422D kWh Poly. (R-422D kWh) Poly. (R-22 kWh)

Comparable Energy Consumption

With R-422D

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R-422D

R-22

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Total Energy Consumption R-422D vs R-22Low and Medium T (SW US Supermarket)

4000

4500

5000

5500

6000

6500

7000

7500

40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90

Ambient Temp (ºF)

kWh

/day

R-22

R-422D

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Retrofit Cost Example

•4 Rack Store with 1.49M Btu/hr load (35% LT/65% MT); 50 TXV/rack

Charge Size = 3000 lb Assume 20% annual leak rate

Electric Cost = $0.10/kwh

• EER ((BTU/Hr)/Watt) based on Calorimeter Data at 80°F Condensing

R-22 R-404A R-422D

Low Temp 6.09* 6.28 6.34 (-25°F Evap/70°F Liq/65°F Return)

Med Temp 15.68 15.68 15.52 (20°F Evap/70°F Liq/65°F Return)

*Liquid Injection used to control discharge T of compressor at 230°F

•POE Oil Change for R-404A

•100% TXV change for R-404A; assume 10% TXV change for R-422D

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Retrofit Cost$45K

Retrofit Cost$14K

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R22 Retrofit Refrigerant Selection@ 120 F Condensing

1,204

2,256

1,625

$0

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

R-22 R-404A R-422D

Alternative Products

To

tal C

os

t o

f O

wn

ers

hip

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

CO

2 E

qu

iva

len

ts/Y

ea

r

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Summary – Supermarket Retrofits• R-422D is an excellent supermarket retrofit refrigerant option in US

• R-422D has higher capacity and efficiency than R-22 in low temperature applications; comparable efficiency in medium temperature applications

• No powerhead change needed with R-22 retrofits to R-422D; likely no TXV change, but need System Analysis to verify post-retrofit TXV loading is adequate

• Lower Retrofit Cost than R-404A (~$30K savings in typical four rack store)

• Smaller Carbon Footprint than R-404A (30% lower in typical four rack store)

•R-422D and R-422A used successfully in supermarket refrigeration systems

• Low and medium temperature refrigeration

• Multiple rack and case manufacturers

• Multiple compressor manufacturers

• R-22 and R-502 equipment

• Over 1500 retrofitted systems throughout the U.S.

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R-22 Alternatives(Air Conditioning Equipment)

R-410A

R-407C

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R-410A - General InformationR-410A - General Information

Components

Composition (wt%)

UL Recognized

ASHRAE NO.

Safety Designation

Capacity (Rel to R-22)

Efficiency (Rel to R-22)

Application

R-410A R-22

HFC-32/HFC-125

50/50%

Yes

R-410A

A1

1.4

.95 to 1.05

New design only

HCFC-22

100%

Yes

R-22

A1

1.0

1.0

--

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Operating Characteristics

R-410A is a “near azeotropic” blend.

Temperature “glide” is less than 1 F (0.5C) and is NOT a factor.

Leaking R-410A systems can be “topped off” with more R-410A without removing the charge.

R-410A should be removed from the cylinder as a liquid.

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Saturation Pressure (psig): R-22 vs. R-410A

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Temperature (F)

R-22

R-410A

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Cylinder Pressures at 70F of Commonly Used Refrigerants and Industrial Gases

136 164 201 250

830

2500 2500

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

R-22 R-404A R-410A Acetylene CO2 Oxygen Nitrogen

Pre

ssu

re (

psi

g)

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Suva® 410A Cylinder Design

R-22

• DOT #39 (DAC)

• Service Pressure 260 psig

• Test Pressure 325 “

• Burst Pressure 650 “

• RV 341 - 520

R-410A

• DOT #39 (400)

• Service Pressure 400 psig

• Test Pressure 500 “

• Burst Pressure 1000 “

• RV 525 - 800

Do not store ANY refrigerant cylinder above 125ºF.

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R-410A in AC/Heat Pumps

Discharge pressure: + 50 to 70%

Capacity: + 40%

Discharge temperature: -10F

12 to 14 SEER meets- DOE guidelines

Wall thickness increased:

• compressor, accumulator, cond. tubes, filter drier, reversing valves

POE lubricants

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R-410A - Service Equipment

Manifold gauge sets

R/R equipment

• FT FM3600-410A; Promax RG-5410

Recovery cylinders

• DOT 4BA400; 4BW400

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Summary: R-410A

• Safe, non-flammable refrigerant

• Can top off leaks with no noticeable performance change

• Best performance achieved if removed from cylinder as a liquid

• High energy efficiency possible

• R-410A: new equipment only

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Conclusions

R22 is going away

The time to act is now

Develop a Refrigerant Management Plan

Survey Equipment, ID units operating on HCFC’s

Know how equipment performs vs. regulatory requirements

Develop plan for change out of HCFC’s

- consider age and history of equipment

- also remodel/shutdown/operation plans