Question 1

What is a Refrigerant?

Accepted Answer

A Refrigerant is a working fluid/gas (vapour) used to transfer heat from one space to another.

Question 2

What type of refrigerants do normal wall mounted air-conditioners use?

Accepted Answer

Modern air-conditioners have been installed with (designed to use) manmade chemical Fluorocarbon refrigerants like R22, R410a and R32.

Question 3

What are Hydrocarbon Refrigerants?

Accepted Answer

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants are natural, non-toxic refrigerant gases that have no ozone depleting properties and minimal global warming effect. There are only five natural refrigerants that exist. The other four are Air, Water, Ammonia and Carbon Dioxide.

Question 4

What are Manmade Chemical Fluorocarbon Refrigerants?

Accepted Answer

Fluorocarbon Refrigerants are chemically made refrigerants. All existing chemical Fluorocarbon Refrigerants will be phased out in some shape or form over the coming years because of their ozone depleting properties or global warming effect and now also identified as forever chemicals. Some chemical refrigerants contain harmful substances such as Chlorine and Fluorine. Fluorine caused Global Warming. (R32, R410a, R22 etc.)

Question 5

Why use the Engas blended Hydrocarbon Refrigerants?

Accepted Answer

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants are kind to the environment and the specially formulated Engas blended refrigerants can also save you up to 35% on your energy bill. Air-conditioning systems are the largest consumer of electricity for any building. The energy used in cooling generally accounts for 60% of most buildings total energy consumption. By converting to the energy saving of Engas Blended hydrocarbon refrigerants, substantial energy savings can be a reality.

Question 6

What has science got to do with it?

Accepted Answer

Natural Hydrocarbon Refrigerants are less dense than Fluorocarbon refrigerants and therefore 50% more efficient conductors of heat because their molecules are smaller and there are more of them. So the overall molecules surface area is increased allowing for a better cooling affect. The operating pressures are about 30% lower than that of Fluorocarbon Refrigerants. These lower operating discharge pressures reduce the work that the compressor has to do thus reducing wear and tear. There is less pressure on pipe work, joints, hoses, fittings and the like thus reducing the likelihood of leaks. This can and will extend the working life of your equipment.

All these advantages equate to an energy saving of between 25% and 40% depending on the refrigerant used for Retro-fitting the existing air-conditioners. (Pure Science!)

Question 7

Are Refrigerants Flammable?

Accepted Answer

All refrigerants are flammable!

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants are also flammable but are safe to use if handled correctly. It should be remembered that millions of tonnes of Hydrocarbons are used safely every year throughout the world for cooking, heating, powering vehicles and aerosol propellants for hairsprays, deodorants, whipped cream and cooking sprays, etc. (Just to name a few).

In refrigeration and air-conditioning systems which use manmade chemical refrigerants or hydrocarbon refrigerants, the oil mixes with the refrigerant as it travels around the system. All these natural and chemical refrigerants become flammable due to the oil vapour content within the gases when being discharged from the systems. Most chemical refrigerants produce toxic by-products and poisonous gases following accidental release in the presence of an adequate heat source.

Question 8

Credibility of Hydrocarbon Refrigerants?

Accepted Answer

Hydrocarbon Refrigerants are recognised as proper bona fide refrigerants by the World's leading industry bodies such as ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers) and AIRAH (Australian Institute Refrigeration Air-conditioning and Heating). These organisations have allocated designated numbers to Hydrocarbon Refrigerants. e.g. R290, R1270, R600, & R170 etc.

Question 9

Are there safety systems in place for the Industry?

Accepted Answer

Procedures and standards have been developed and adopted to ensure the safe use of Hydrocarbon Refrigerants. Engas products are compliant with AS/NZS 3000, AS/NZS 60079.1.10 & AS/NZS 5149.1-4, which include comprehensive procedures for the safe use of all refrigerants including hydrocarbons.

Question 10

What is the trend and the industries that use Hydrocarbon Refrigerants?

Accepted Answer

The modern expanding trend is to Retro-fit all existing air-conditioners throughout the world with Hydrocarbon Refrigerants, when it is safe to do so.

Many European manufacturers of commercial and domestic refrigeration equipment have changed to hydrocarbon technology. Every year approximately 8 million hydrocarbon based refrigerators are produced in Europe, each using around 30% less energy than refrigerators using fluorocarbon refrigerants. These include companies such as Bosch, Electrolux, Miele, Whirlpool and AEG. The large supermarket chain in the UK called Sainsburys has built six new stores using hydrocarbon refrigerants as the primary refrigerant.

In Asia, LG produces over 11,000 refrigerators per day using hydrocarbon refrigerant. In China, hydrocarbon refrigerants are used by 3 out of 4 of the largest refrigerator manufacturers.

The technology to convert existing refrigeration or air-conditioning systems to hydrocarbon refrigerants has been available for the last 20 years. Properly trained Technicians and Engineers can ensure adequate control of health and safety risks associated with any use of hydrocarbon refrigerants.

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