If your organisation requires a chiller in order for your business to function effectively, you’ll understand how critical it is to keep up with all of the increasingly tightening legislative requirements with regards to refrigerants. As you’ll probably already be aware, the industry is continually changing, with increasing demands for equipment to be environmentally friendly and to meet the ever-growing legal requirements in respects of emissions.
So what’s the issue with HFCs? Well as we know, the Montreal Protocol had set a global phase-out to ban CFCs due to their ability to damage the ozone layer. So it’s great to hear that 197 countries have signed up to the commitment. However, the use of HFCs presents a further problem in itself. In fact, it has the potential to undo all of the work that the reduction of CFCs had already done.
Certainly as the phase-out of HFCs grows, so does the demand for reducing energy costs. When it comes to finding alternative refrigerants for use within water chillers, it’s essential to find a solution that’s robust enough to deliver a reliable service and a continuous cooling source. And certainly, it needs to be an efficient green alternative that’s great for the environment too.
There are certainly three alternatives to the current atypical HFC refrigerant. You could choose from ammonia, CO2 or hydrocarbon – each of these options will undoubtedly give you a cost-effective alternative. However, the hydrocarbon refrigerant – particularly the GalxC R290 is a great option if you want a chiller refrigerant that ticks all the boxes for economic and environmental reasons.
For starters, the R290 hydrocarbon benefits from excellent thermodynamics; crucial for your chiller’s long-term productivity. And in fact, most hydrocarbon chillers perform much better than those with HFC refrigerants. You can be reassured that they are also compatible with components and lubricants.
When it comes to hydrocarbons, its refrigerant properties, such as discharge temperatures, pressures and pressure ratios are very similar to those of HFC-filled chillers. Plus, they also benefit from an ability to allow smaller heat exchangers and piping dimensions thanks to a lower refrigerant charge.
Increasingly, many organisations are now realising the potential to be gained by using hydrocarbons within their chiller facilities. And certainly as a notable example, Waitrose have particularly appreciated the benefits of using GalxC’s water chillers for their water cooled integral refrigeration systems and water secondary refrigeration systems, having installed them over the past few years to meet their demanding needs.
To find out more about GalxC’s R290 hydrocarbon chillers contact us here.
