On a more general note, what is the future of aircon?
The gas they're now supposed to use is so ridiculously expensive that it will push the price back into the luxury zone, unless the price tumbles by a factor of ten.
Then there is the issue of flammability. Those weedy little aluminium pipes don't look safe for the stuff in the event of a road accident.
Channa?
Totally my own opinion, But you ask the million dollar question ! Quite frankly If I knew a compelling answer I could probably make a lot of money.
In general terms replacement of equipment seems to be cost effective, for example HSBC bank has a £16 million programme to replace units in their offices, and early indications show a £2.2 million energy saving a year. Thornton the chocolate people have done the same Air Con important for integrity of their product and are enjoying similar savings in energy costs they discovered it a bit by happy accident after the Meadowhall floods of 2007.
Traditionally gasses like R22 were phased out and part of that phase out was cease of production, so only reclaimed gasses could be used then that was stopped rendering systems useless unless they could be adapted to accommodate the new generation of gasses ( a lot technically involved with
that) It is this scenario which is scaring a lot of car owners, and has you intimated on an earlier post R134A is the prominent gas .
From what I can tell the situation with R134a is significantly different, From 2020 -21 it will be illegal to supply equipment containing that gas but there are no plans to phase the gas out, so existing systems should be ok. That leaves us with a situation that such as the VAG group are now using R1234F to beat the deadline prices of the gas should drop as it becomes more widespread in use.
Generally the Montreal Protocol, Kyoto Protocol , introduction of F gas regulations and events as recent as the Paris summit have all shifted the goalposts, large r12 /r22 systems exported to countries traditionally like Nigeria and Pakistan but has those countries commit to agreements the final solutions are quite interesting.
The OP's R407 C is earmarked for phase out due to the fact it has a high GWP, That said it is an azetropic blend and is efficient at cooling , so if it does hit the radar it may go the same way as R134a.?
I am due for re testing, and there are so many changes with legislation I need it like a hole in my head. I do very little nowdays on Air Con that I am considering letting my ticket lapse and leave it to the youngsters, There is some real quality training out there, particularly to get women in the industry.
Channa
