Mentioning the air-conditioning refrigerant R32, many air-conditioners have lingering fears, especially the air-conditioning installation and maintenance personnel who are "talking about it". This is mainly due to the frequent occurrence of accidents about the explosion of R32 refrigerant in recent years, and the bloody explosion scenes are frightening. However, the future fate of R32 refrigerant is unpredictable. Recently, according to the latest report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), R32 refrigerant may be eliminated by the European Union in 2025.
R32 refrigerant air conditioner why explode frequently?
For R32 refrigerant, air conditioners are love-hate. Love its environmental protection is better than R22 , and the filling volume is less than R410a, cost-effective; hate its poor safety, easy to explode in case of open fire. The chemical composition of
R32 is difluoromethane CH₂F₂, which is very toxic, slightly flammable, and has a safety level of A2L. R32 has the possibility of explosion, and its explosion limit is 14.4% ~ 29.3%. It is necessary to solve the problem of lower flammability in household air-conditioning applications.
In fact, although R32 refrigerant is flammable, its combustion conditions are relatively harsh. It needs to reach a certain concentration and encounter an open flame before it may explode. Therefore, if R32 leaks slightly, it is more difficult to burn. Only if there is a serious leak, it may explode.
In terms of safety, since the previous air conditioners used R22/R410A refrigerant, there is no danger of refrigerant leakage. At most, it is necessary to frequently add or replace the refrigerant. But R32 refrigerant is different. If it is installed incorrectly, it will cause refrigerant leakage and there is a risk of explosion. The emergence of R32 air conditioners,Undoubtedly, higher requirements are placed on air-conditioning installers. Many installers still use the original method when installing R22/R410A air conditioners, and do not correctly realize the danger of R32.
R32 refrigerant will really be banned by air conditioners in the future?
In recent years, why use R32 instead of R22/R410A refrigerant? This is mainly due to environmental protection factors. According to the Montreal Agreement, R22 refrigerant is being phased out in China. Because the cooling performance of R32 is close to that of R410a, under the same cooling capacity, the filling volume of R32 is less than that of R410a (about 30% reduction), but the exhaust temperature is higher than that of R410a.
R32 refrigerant has been favored by major air-conditioning manufacturers in recent years, but its future may not last long. On August 9, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report showing that for the first time, the global warming potential (GWP value) of hydrocarbon was included in official statistics.
In the latest IPCC report, the 100-year GWP value of R32 was updated and revised. In the previous report, the GWP value of R32 was about 675, which is lower than the one that will take effect in the EU on January 1, 2025. The GWP value of split air conditioner refrigerant cannot be higher than the upper limit of 750. After the data update, the 100-year GWP value of R32 is 771, which means that from 2025, R32 may be banned in many new EU air-conditioning equipment.
For the air-conditioning industry, it is necessary to find new refrigerants as soon as possible. From the current point of view, the natural working fluids propane (R290) and butane (R600) may be potential substitutes. The GWP values are very low. The 20-year GWP value of propane (R290) is 0.072, the 100-year GWP value is 0.02, and the 20-year GWP value of butane (R600) is 0.022.The 100-year GWP value is 0.006. However, these two are more dangerous and explosive than R32, which will inevitably increase the difficulty of large-scale popularization, and will also put forward higher requirements for the quality control and installation process of air conditioners.
R32 may be banned in the future, but the latter R290 and R600 are more explosive. What do you think? Pay attention to the "home appliance people" entering the group, and listen to what the bigwigs in the group have to say. You have a story and I have a wine, let's talk together. #air conditioning# #household appliances#
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