No Excuses - Case Study: UK Companies Blaze A Trail With Hydrocarbon Refrigeration

Case Study: UK Companies Blaze A Trail With Hydrocarbon Refrigeration

In 1994, Calor Gas (UK) introduced a line of hydrocarbon refrigerants as direct, drop-in replacements for CFCs and HCFCs, under the brand name CARE. Calor now manufactures four refrigerant grade hydrocarbons:

Care 10 - Isobutane.
Care 30 - Blend of propane and isobutane, replacement for R-12 (drop in).
Care 40 - Propane (R-290), replacement for R-22, R-502 (not drop in).
Care 50 - Blend of Propane and Ethane. Replacement for R22, R-502 (drop in).

Calor Gas runs free training courses on the safe storage and handling of their refrigerants, which around 1000 contractors have taken in the UK. They distribute their gases through a national refrigerant wholesaler (HRP) and will only sell them to contractors who have been on one of theirhandling courses.

Calor will also give technical support on the use of HC refrigerants in the production process and are producing a publication "Guidelines for the Safe use of Care Refrigerants in Appliance Manufacture", which should be available shortly.

According to Mr. Paul Blacklock, General Manager of Calor Gas Refrigeration, commercial refrigeration and air conditioning equipment manufacturers are chosing HC refrigerants as much for "their economic and commercial advantages as their environmental benefits."

Examples of UK companies working with hydrocarbon refrigerants in commercial refrigeration and air conditioning :

George Barker & Co (Leeds) Ltd : Manufacturer of integral and indirect display cases mainly for food and beverages. They have been in the business for 60 years and supply all the main UK retailers. They will have three models of display case with integral compressors on the market by the start of 1996. Four feet (1260mm), five feet (1565mm) and six feet (1870mm) versions with display areas from 1.43m2 to 2.18m2. They have used the CFC-12 replacement brand Care 30 for over a year now and have been testing theHCFC22/R-502 replacements Care 40 and 50 which show even better efficiency. According to a Calor communiqu, "during trials of Calor Gas CARE refrigerants, Barkers reported energy savings of up to 17 per cent.
They are also testing some secondary refrigerants for use with indirect systems.
IMI Air Conditioning Ltd.: Manufacturer of packaged air conditioning units. From 1 January 1996 they will be offering their impact range of wall mounted air conditioning units with Care 50 (a blend of propane and ethane). This covers a range of 2 kW to 10 kW cooling duty.
Later in 1996 they will also be offering a heat pump ventilation unit and a range of chillers (12 - 45 kW) with Care 50.
Eaton Williams Group: Manufacturer of packaged air conditioning equipment. Are offering their through the wall QPM II range (which have a cooling capacity of 3.4 to 5 kW and aheating capacity of 3.6 to 5.3 kW). They specialise in refurbishment contracts, particularly hotels and offices, where they can match the profile of the existing equipment installed.
Foster Refrigeration (UK) Ltd.: Cabinet makers for food industry primarily. Operate worldwide with offices in UK, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain. Offering HC versions in1996.
Interlevin Group: Largest commercial cabinet wholesaler in Europe. Manufacture own brand under the name Levin. It is intended to convert the manufacture of these to HCs.They also manufacture Elstar beverage coolers for bars,restaurants, hotels. By the end of this month, September 1995, the whole Elstar range will have changed from HFC134a to Care 30.
Water Chiller Plant for Air Conditioning. Two central London (owner occupied by London Transport) office buildings of 500m2 and 1000m2 with cooling loads of 45kW and 85kW respectively have had chillers installed that run on Care 50. The consultants (Troup, Bywaters and Anders ) used three HCFC-22 rotary scroll type compressors with standard air cooled condensers which complied with the onerous noise and appearance constraints for the area. Two of the machines were used for the 1000m2 building and one for the 500m2 building. Each chiller was charged with less than 10kg of Care 50 to comply with BS 4434 1995- the recently adopted safety standards for hydrocarbon refrigerants in the UK . The compressor manufacturer (Maneurop) provided a warranty for use with Care 50 which was critical to the project.
Charging Equipment There are at least three suppliers of charging equipment in the UK to enable manufacturers to convert production to the use of hydrocarbons.