All of these appliances use coolants or refrigerants in their cooling systems or heat pumps as a means of transporting heat. Developing these refrigerants is paramount as they have a significant impact on the environment.

In the past, the use of synthetic refrigerants known as chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant gases (CFCs), and later hydrochlorofluorocarbon refrigerant gases (HCFCs), caused a large hole to form in the ozone layer. Both were banned, and have since been replaced by new, less harmful refrigerants. The new hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants (HFCs) are free from environmentally damaging chlorine-based components, but even these still contribute to global warming. Whereas refrigerants used to be measured in terms of their ODP (ozone depletion potential), HFCs are evaluated based on their GWP (global warming potential) – a relative measure that assesses the impact of a greenhouse gas based on its contribution to global warming as compared to carbon dioxide (CO2).

Research into natural refrigerants is ongoing

Carbon dioxide has a GWP value of 1, while the GWP value of a HFC can be anywhere between 124 and 22,800 times higher. This means that leakages of carbon dioxide, which is a naturally occurring refrigerant, result in a much less pronounced greenhouse effect, making carbon dioxide an ideal alternative to synthetic agents. The drawback to using CO2 is that it creates extremely high pressure in refrigeration systems, resulting in low efficiency.

Other natural refrigerants, such as isobutane or propane, have the downside of being flammable. In the United States, people did not want to work with flammable refrigerants for a long time, which is why most research has focused on CO2-based solutions. Given that the priority in research and development is on energy consumption, however, manufacturers stateside are slowly switching to using flammable refrigerants for products such as domestic and small commercial refrigerators. Switching from HFCs to HCs (hydrocarbons) requires a lot of development work, and not just in terms of safety.

Energy consumption and the environmental impact of the refrigerant are indicated with a TEWI (total equivalent warming impact) value. The following three factors can influence energy consumption:

The compressor extracts heat from the appliance;
Insulation can be applied in various thicknesses and types;
A good heat transfer ensures the smallest possible temperature/pressure difference between the cold and hot side of the cooling system, which reduces how much energy the compressor consumes.

Regulating the TEWI value makes it possible to develop creative solutions for any application in the field of refrigeration engineering.

Testing standards are being modernised and universally applied

Re/genT isn’t just a global leader when it comes to developing energy-efficient solutions in refrigeration engineering; the company is also at the forefront in terms of testing and verifying new energy labels and ecodesign requirements.

Over time, it became clear that refrigerators behave differently under standard test conditions than in daily use. Whereas testing used to be conducted at a single ambient temperature of 25 °C, Re/genT now tests at two different temperatures of 16 °C and 32 °C. The differences in the test results obtained at both temperatures make it possible to provide realistic evaluations of daily energy consumption.

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