Cold Hard Facts

Air conditioning costs to cause discomfort

Melbourne-dependent startup Conry Tech is highlighting the enhanced prices of air conditioning this yr, and predicts this will convey mainstream attention to what is commonly an invisible situation.

Conry Tech CEO and co-founder Sam Ringwaldt, M.AIRAH, estimates that power charges for air conditioning will be above $12.4 billion in 2023, supplied modern energy cost rises. This figure is up significantly ($2.5 billion) since 2020.

“Air conditioning is concurrently everywhere you go and nowhere,” says Ringwaldt. “It is all close to us, in almost every single making in Australia, nonetheless we never go through about it, talk about it, think about it, or get started to issue it, until it is not doing work.

“This calendar year could be a tipping issue, even so. Australians could commit far more income on AC power bills than at any time in advance of this summertime, and there are numerous explanations why it will be at the forefront of their minds. Strength price ranges have spiked, additional people today are performing from home, and El Niño is set to return in 2023. Our AC models will be on constantly, and costing us far more than ever.”

Towards this backdrop, Ringwaldt suggests the market have to innovate.

“As we head into the peak aircon months in Australia, we can not overlook the problem and go on accepting the position quo of an marketplace that has scarcely improved in 100 a long time. A lot of houses and business office spaces are using AC units that are veritable dinosaurs that use additional electrical power than they need, price a lot more than they really should and only complete efficiently on the most popular working day of the yr.

“If we designed aircon nowadays with a blank sheet of paper, we would certainly do it in a different way and do it much better. The entire world is obtaining improved at ripping up and changing outdated and out-of-date techniques of carrying out matters. As nations changeover from fossil fuels to renewables, and persons swap their petrol vehicles for EVs, absolutely the times of terrible aircon are numbered.”

Conry Tech notes that in 2020, air conditioning models consumed 36,750,000MWh in Australia. Centered on Cold Challenging Info, this variety is consistently increasing in excess of time (up from 30,000,000MWh in 2016). Conry Tech estimates that AC energy use in 2023 will be about 40,000,000MWh.

“Meanwhile, wholesale power expenses rose sharply this year,” says the business. “According to the Australian Electrical power Regulator, the typical price tag per megawatt hour in Australia now ranges from $210 (Victoria and Tasmania) to $257 (South Australia), up from $45–65 in 2020. Household vitality charges in Australia are presently $.319 per kWh ($319 for every MWh).

“In a conservative situation, the total wholesale AC vitality monthly bill will achieve $8bn this calendar year. For homes and corporations, this figure would be around $12.4bn.

“With much more individuals now working with AC to great their residences, much more persons operating from property, and extra extreme weather functions, it is probable that this variety could increase even further.”

The comprehensive media release is obtainable at the Conry Tech web site.

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By nigemord@gmail.com / February 2, 2023

Cold Hard Facts Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment Expert Group Graeme Dewerson HFC phase-down John McCormack Kigali Amendment News Pat McInerney R404A refrigerants Slider

Days of R404A are numbered

Higher-GWP refrigerants could quickly be in short supply and growing in price tag as stockpiles dwindle, global pressures strike our shores, and the HFC stage-down quotas commence to chunk. And in accordance to professionals at AIRAH’s Refrigeration 2022 convention this week, that signifies it’s time for contractors to urgently swap away from R404A.

When the HFC stage-down began in January 2018, concerns ended up voiced about the risk of prices spiking – as they had carried out in Europe less than the F-Gas regulation. Individuals fears, on the other hand, proved mainly unfounded in Australia the earlier 4 years have been comparatively clean in conditions of refrigerant price ranges.

Whilst that has meant stability, business observers say that it has also produced complacency. At the “cold face”, expertise about the phase-down and the have to have to changeover to reduce-GWP refrigerants remains lower. In individual, R404A remains a common preference for small- and medium-temperature refrigeration purposes, these types of as commercial refrigeration, grocery store show instances, cold rooms, transportation refrigeration and course of action cooling.

But as the speakers at Refrigeration 2022 warned, that will before long have to improve.

Source shock coming

Sythree Director John McCormack opened proceedings with a presentation on the modifying landscape of refrigerants and the forces driving the change. He noted that the recent cost of refrigerants is decrease than really should be predicted because of to inventory stockpiled before the HFC stage-down commenced. This inventory has successfully “masked” the very first two reductions in Australia’s refrigerant import quota.

But that stockpile is shrinking. Dependent on the information in Chilly Hard Facts 2021, McCormack estimates that in 2023, Australia could be struggling with a shortfall of as a lot as 500 tonnes of refrigerant.

“Importers have a fixed quota,” he states, “and as the quota methods down they have significantly less CO₂e to promote. So they will elevate the value for better GWP items to replicate the quota they take in.”

Accordingly, McCormack expects speedy boosts for large-GWP items these kinds of as R404A and R410A. He also predicts shortages.

“When the stock is absent in the to start with fifty percent of following 12 months, importers and wholesalers will have to glimpse at what they provide. There is not more than enough quota to import ample HFCs to meet up with the demand, irrespective of the price tag. They will have to pick which shoppers they aid with their limited supply.”

Some of this stress will be eased by transferring to conveniently obtainable HFO blends that can be utilized in existing tools, these types of as replacing R404A with R449A, and changing R134a with R513A.

“This would no cost up enough quota to deal with the step downs for 2022, 2024 and 2026,” suggests McCormack, “which would give the marketplace the time to upskill for these new technologies. Of training course, this will not materialize. All the supermarkets and coldrooms simply cannot move straightaway, and neither can all the cars and trucks and other R134a products.

“We will see a supply shock. That’s when the market place will consider that this section-down is serious.”

In the meantime, other components will also put upward force on selling prices. Thanks to raw material charge boosts and international freight, virgin HFC prices have greater by about 17 for each cent. The value of distribution close to Australia has also greater sharply with rising gas rates. These costs will be handed on in the close to long term.

Shock or shift?

On day two of the meeting, Graeme Dewerson from the Pro Group presented Chilly Tricky Specifics 2021. The latest in the collection of reviews well prepared for the Office of Agriculture, Drinking water and the Atmosphere analyses info from 2020 to recognize essential developments and tendencies in the refrigeration and air conditioning marketplace.

Cold Tricky Points 2021 involves info on full refrigerant utilization in Australia compared to bulk imports. In 2017, the yr prior to the HFC phase-down began, there was a spike in imports. But in 2019 and 2020, utilization outstripped imports. Dewerson pointed out that this trend is very likely to continue until current market pre-quota stockpiles are depleted. But at that position, he explained that refrigerant recycling is possible to phase up to fill any gap between imports and usage.

In truth, some have recommended that the move away from R404A may possibly not be so a lot a shock as a change. It is imagined that recycling could create 100–200 tonnes of recycled HFCs in the event of a shortfall. Others have flagged that recycling the HFC blends is not as simple as recycling refrigerants this kind of as R22.

As observed higher than, lower GWP alternatives exist for R404A. Solutions these kinds of as R448A and R449A are immediate replacements, offering close to a 65 per cent CO₂e reduction on R404A. This means that the massive volume of R404A imported in 2020 represents a “carbon sponge” that can be transformed to other merchandise. But again, this will rely on market transitioning promptly.

Government thinking of options

Pat McInerney from the Division of Agriculture, Drinking water and the Natural environment also introduced at Refrigeration 2022, with an update on the HFC stage-down.

As well as providing some background on the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Modification that has established targets for the stage-down of HFCs globally, McInerney highlighted places where Australia may well want to consider much more action than basically restricting bulk imports.

One particular these kinds of area worries R404A. According to Cold Tricky Info 2021, 822 tonnes of R404A were being imported in 2020, in comparison to 838 tonnes in 2019 – a really slight decrease. McInerney indicated that the government has recognised the challenge, and is now wanting at means to deal with it. A single solution is a ban on selected machines styles employing R404A, although these types of bans might be difficult to carry out. In short, this piece of operate is ongoing.

Time to move

Though future govt coverage is still not apparent, the message for contractors is: the days of R404A are numbered. Professionals highlighted the will need to have conversations with buyers about this refrigerant and how soaring charges will affect their company. They also observed that the imperative is now even increased to avoid installing new devices on R404A and make investments the more dollars to move to a a lot more potential-evidence solution.

Also, there is a have to have to make awareness among practitioners about replacement merchandise, retrofit procedures, and how to optimise programs on those people products and solutions.

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By nigemord@gmail.com / May 19, 2022

Cold Hard Facts Featured HFC phase-down hydrocarbons News R1234yf R134a R32 R410A refrigerant bank refrigerants

Refrigerant report underlines need for further efforts

The most current Chilly Difficult Details report, just unveiled, confirms that Australia has now extremely very likely handed “peak bank” in conditions of both whole volume of refrigerant and its GWP benefit. But it also highlights segments of the refrigerant current market that could call for far more consideration, and the need to have for ongoing exertion to limit emissions.

Considering the fact that 2007, the Chilly Hard Details series of stories have been the HVAC&R industry’s go-to publication for measuring the magnitude and impression of the sector. The large takeaway from the most latest report is that Australia has possibly passed “peak bank”. In other words, our overall amount of refrigerant is now beginning to shrink, and with it, the related emissions. This will be found by lots of as constructive information, and proof that Australia’s HFC section-down is doing the job. It is also a end result of worldwide attempts to curtail emissions, and the subsequent transition to new refrigerants and a lot more successful equipment styles.

Seeking at unique segments of the sector, a different spotlight is the ongoing quick transition away from R410A to R32 in air conditioners. For the first time, R32 overtook R410A in pre-billed tools imports, and the R410A share of the bank stopped escalating. Even though this is most noteworthy in the split procedure segment, the report notes that R32 is also being employed in much larger applications, which include break up ducted methods and chillers with prices up to 100kg. The reduced GWP of R32, and scaled-down cost measurements, have helped lower Australia’s in general financial institution.

Hydrocarbons are signalled as yet another development refrigerant, specifically in purposes with demand dimensions beneath 150g these as refrigerated screen cupboards and portable air conditioners. In the circumstance of the latter, as of July 1, 2021, 83 for every cent of portable air conditioners registered with GEMS contained hydrocarbons.

But the transition to purely natural or alternate reduced-GWP artificial refrigerants is not taking place as swiftly in other sectors. The report notes that in spite of a concerted transfer by key grocery store chains to deploy trans-essential CO₂ units, need for R404A continues to be powerful, with extra than 850 tonnes used for service and new products – steady with the earlier five several years.

Presented its large GWP of 3,922, there is worry that R404A is nonetheless so heavily employed. Some have prompt far more targeted government measures are required to lessen this “stubborn” refrigerant.

Another challenge for Australia has been the reliance on R134A in cell air conditioning, when other components of the entire world have already transitioned to the decrease-GWP HFO refrigerant R1234yf. The report notes that R1234yf is last but not least starting to surface, however nevertheless in comparatively small quantities. Of the 917,000 new automobiles imported into Australia in 2020, fewer than 15 for each cent had been estimated to include R1234yf. Once more, this phase is a prospective candidate for more immediate federal government motion.

All round, the report notes that the financial institution has develop into far more various as a extensive assortment of different refrigerants emerge.

There is also a notice of warning, that whilst Australia has likely passed peak bank, there is still a good deal of operate to do. The report points to a new CSIRO review indicating that HFC emissions have been expanding at 5 per cent per annum since 2005.

“With an present refrigerant bank in put in tools that has a full international warming likely of somewhere around 100 million tonnes (Mt) CO₂e,” reads the report, “efforts at improved containment and helpful restoration of refrigerants will be essential to continue to push down the full environmental impact of RAC solutions in Australia.”

To go through Chilly Tough Facts 2021, click on in this article.

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By nigemord@gmail.com / February 23, 2022

Cold Hard Facts Greg Picker HFC phase-down Koura Mobile air conditioning News R1234yf R134a R456A refrigerants Refrigerants Australia Slider

Does R134a alternative hold promise for Australia?

US refrigerant producer Koura has introduced R456A, an alternate to R134a for automotive aftermarket programs.

R456A has a world warming potential of 626 – about fifty percent that of R134a. According to Koura, trials have demonstrated R456A to be compatible with present R134a automotive air conditioning devices when preserving “high-good quality, effective performance”.

The development will come as Europe will take the next action in its HFC phase-down. Offered the increased pressure on quotas – now down to 45 for every cent of baseline – the new refrigerant could be an interesting different to R134a.

Accordingly, Koura is doing work to get EU (CE) and Uk certification for the new refrigerant, and is partaking with distributors to convey R456A to market place in just the British isles and EU.

Refrigerants Australia Govt Director Greg Picker suggests that R456A will mainly be of fascination to the provider sector.

“This clearly isn’t made for new vehicles,” Picker states, “because it would not meet up with the specifications for new cars in Europe, which say gases have to have a GWP of a lot less than 150. This is about managing the fleet of current motor vehicles when they appear in for company, where by they are putting in precious quota tonnes just to retain automobile air conditioners doing the job. This is a way to extend those tonnes.”

In Europe, R134a has been banned for new cars and trucks specified its GWP of 1,430 producers have mainly switched to systems employing R1234yf.

“The edge of R1234yf as a replacement for R134a in new automobiles is that other than staying mildly flammable, it is pretty identical to R134a in conditions of its attributes,” says Picker. “The temperature selection it works by using for its steadiness, its oil, the form of method … it did not require key adjustments in techniques, so it’s been genuinely prosperous.

“The trouble is you simply cannot adhere R1234yf in air conditioning programs in motor vehicles that weren’t intended for them for the reason that of security troubles.”

At initially look, the new refrigerant would look to have some interest for Australia, wherever new autos are still remaining marketed with R134a, and where this refrigerant is just one of the largest areas of the country’s full refrigerant bank. According to the most latest Cold Hard Information report, it built up 31.6 per cent of the full financial institution in 2019.

Picker says that correct now, tension on import quotas in Australia is not as acute as in Europe, largely simply because of the fast transition in the break up market from R410A to the reduce-GWP R32, but in the foreseeable future, these kinds of an option may possibly arrive into participate in.

“Europe improved about in 2018 – that is four a long time back now – to not acquiring vehicles with R134a methods,” says Picker. “Most of our automobiles even now have R134a units.

“So the longer-term use of this gas is far additional likely right here than in Europe. Slower uptake in this article, but a considerably far more spectacular probably use and tail. In Europe, 10 a long time from now they will not be using this gasoline specified how we’re nonetheless importing cars with R134a we could be, and by then it will make any difference.”

Picker suggests that the larger game is tightening Australia’s guidelines for mobile air conditioning units.

“Car air conditioners have a large amount of gasoline in them in phrases of proportion of in which the financial institution is,” suggests Picker. “It’s a leaky application, and there are decreased-GWP solutions that are obtainable that are not getting employed.

“That’s the kicker – we’re staying slow. We always say we’re early adopters, but not here.”

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By nigemord@gmail.com / January 17, 2022