Who could have predicted the volatility of the last few years for refrigerants in Australia? One year there is a carbon tax, the next it is removed, and that's just in Australia.
The global regulatory landscape is just as turbulent as different parts of the world introduce different timetables to phase down HFCs. Refrigerants Australia executive director, Greg Picker, says industry is in dire need of a break but there is still plenty of work to do. Here he shares his outlook.
After the tumult of the carbon price and the ongoing concern about the impact that the phase down of R22 might have on the market, the refrigeration and air conditioning industry could be forgiven from expecting that fate owed it a break. We clearly want a period of time to catch our breath, have a period of stable market conditions and just operate normally before the inevitable next round of change strikes us. Unfortunately for those hoping for a reprieve, the next wave is upon us.
The world realises that climate change is a real problem and that steps do need to be taken to reduce emissions. This has manifested itself in a number of ways. Firstly, the European Union, the United States and Japan have all taken increased steps
to reduce emissions of HFCs.
This includes a phase down of HFCs based on their global warming potential, product bans and increased stringency in end use controls. Combined with this is the international push - supported by the Australian Government and industry to phase down of HFCs through the Montreal Protocol.
Last May, the government announced a review of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act. As part of this review it is considering a suite of measure to reduce emissions including a phase down - based on the carbon equivalency - of HFC refrigerants. More recently the government made clear that action on HFCs would be a key plank of its activities to set a new, more ambitious climate target in Paris at the climate negotiations at the end of November this year.
What does all this mean to the industry, today and in the future? The introduction of R32 in smaller split system air conditioners and R1234yf in mobile air conditioners is a start. Both of these innovations will result in a significant reduction in the scale of emissions when these refrigerants leak. Indeed, with R1234yf having a GWP of less than 1 (R134a was 1300), the improvement in environmental performance is stunning.
Innovation will not be confined to these two market sectors. Equipment designers and manufacturers are having another look at their systems and considering what new refrigerants and designs they need to develop and commercialise, and they are not just focused on the GWP of refrigerants. Manufacturers consider the equipment as a whole and consider the environmental performance, energy efficient, safety, reliability and other issues as they develop new equipment and gases.
They also consider how well new equipment delivers cooling as well. These new gases have challenges. Many are mildly flammable - A2L refrigerants - whereas many also have higher pressure ratings or other challenges. The need for training to be enhanced and skill of tradespeople maximised will be even more true in the future than today.
The consequences of making errors in servicing will be greater - the demands on industry similarly higher. The RAC industry has delivered great improvements over the past 20 years. Emissions of refrigerants have declined by about 90 per cent (and may be declining again before new technology really arrives) and energy use has improved 40 per cent over the past decade. But more must be done. As we think about the next year we should be gearing up for the next great effort. We can do it because we have done it before.