Our HFO solutions to succeed in your transition to new F-gas standards

HFO solutions - New F-gas standards - EURODIFROID chillers / coolers

  

Are you ready for new F-gas standards?

Will your equipment (current or future) be impacted?

 

 

Setting up future standards European F-gas will have/is already having a major impact on all refrigeration devices (new project, device replacement, fleet updating, etc.).

At EURODIFROID, we already have water coolers, oil coolers and industrial air conditioners compliant with these EU standards, and our team is ready to support you in this transition. We explain everything to you right here.

Reminder of the context

HFO solutions - New F-gas standards - EURODIFROID chillers / coolers

 
 
The increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has a direct impact on global warming, causing major disruption to the environment.

Among these gases, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are singled out for their particularly high global warming potential.

Used primarily as refrigerants in air conditioning and refrigeration systems (heat pumps, cooling rooms and other refrigeration systems), HFCs contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions.

The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, aims to keep global warming well below 2°C, and ideally 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve these objectives, specific measures concerning HFCs have been put in place, in particular via the European regulation on fluorinated gases.

The new standards require a gradual reduction in the use of HFCs, with increasingly strict emission quotas (expressed in CO2 equivalent, or carbon dioxide).

This transition is planned in "steps", depending on the type of device, its refrigerating power or the type of gas used.

At the same time, leak control measures are now mandatory to detect and limit fluid leaks, thus ensuring responsible handling of equipment containing HFCs.

Impact on complete sectors of industry

HFO solutions - New F-gas standards - EURODIFROID chillers / coolers

Manufacturers in the sector are already offering solutions around new gases, and are there to advise you and support you in the transition of your refrigeration installations.

In fact, the entire thermodynamic value chain is committed around these issues (designers, design offices, manufacturers, assemblers, installers, refrigeration engineers, etc.), with the impact of each component of the devices: compressor, evaporator, exchanger, condenser, pumps, ventilation, thermal regulation…

Many issues must be taken into account to offer solid alternatives. Starting with the choice of the type of refrigerant gas.

Although some gases seem very promising due to their low global warming potential (GWP), they still have disadvantages to manage: they can be more flammable, more toxic, or even require management of greater pressure.

The design and assembly of low GWP devices therefore requires a very precise approach and specific skills.

Are you affected by this regulation?

HFO solutions - New F-gas standards - EURODIFROID chillers / coolers

Regulatory and normative deadlines are getting closer!

Regarding new devices productions, the F-Gas transition schedule depends on many factors (type of device, type of design, cooling capacity, etc.), with a few exceptions, and it is now imperative to take these imminent obligations into account.

As examples:

  • Water / Oil coolers > 12kW will have to abandon fluids > 750 GWP (such as R410A or R407C) in 2027 (before other future deadlines...);
  • On the same date, coolers < 12kW will no longer be able to use fluid > 150 GWP (type R513A);
  • Most monobloc air conditioners are affected by these same fluid deadlines < 150 GWP for 2027.

Our teams are here to provide you with advice and adapt the right “fluid” response to these different schedules and your technical specifications.

It is then time (and urgent) to switch as soon as possible to < 150 GWP refrigeration solutions: HFO (hydrofluoro-olefin gases).

Gases of this type are available and the components are available… but you still need to count on a reliable partner to support you.
 

"At EURODIFROID, we already anticipated the subject!"

We already offer several "new generation HFO devices" (using refrigerant gases, type R1234ze or R1234yf for instance), some of which have been in service for several years, in particular for customers already concerned by the first levels of the standard (such as small powers in agri-food applications, for example).

Capable of responding to various applications (production and distribution of hydrogen, food storage, production of cosmetic products, machine tools, etc.), these devices can be installed on different refrigeration installations and adapt to different power ranges.

 

Our primary role: to listen to you and advise you.

HFO solutions - New F-gas standards - EURODIFROID chillers / coolers

First of all, we are at your disposal to analyze the relevance of the project.
  

Indeed, several elements must be taken into account before starting the development or industrialization of a new machine:

  • Normative analysis: when are you really concerned by this F-gas transition? What are the possible associated impacts? (Required authorizations, maintenance obligations, etc.).
    Our experience will allow you to better plan your project and schedule the different steps.
  • Cost and time analysis: we are a designer-assembler of cooling units.
    As such, we purchase components from the main European manufacturers, always aiming to select the components with the best quality/price ratio (compressors, fans, sheet metal, etc.). There is no point in oversizing a device: we only use economically viable technologies, already proven and available on the market.
  • Security analysis: this work, carried out jointly with you, allows us to take into account the environment and conditions of use of the device, in order to take into account all relevant risks.

For example: some HFO gases (type A2L) tend to be more flammable and therefore require greater air circulation. It is therefore imperative to ensure that your installation location and that the device itself respects constraints sometimes stronger than your current equipment.

With EURODIFROID, a normative constraint becomes an added-value opportunity

HFO solutions - New F-gas standards - EURODIFROID chillers / coolers

"CAPEX vs. OPEX": we transform an investment obligation into an opportunity to reduce your operating costs.

How ? Quite simply because the components necessary to operate an HFO refrigerant circuit often natively include more “intelligent” functionalities.

For example: the use of a more flammable HFO gas regularly leads us to use semi-hermetic compressors, in order to better control the pressure and flammability constraints of HFO gases. This type of compressor is slightly more expensive than a traditional hermetic compressor.

On the other hand, it often natively integrates speed variation possibilities, which makes it possible to adapt its power consumption to the need in real time.

The same goes for many other components, such as fans or regulators which, in parallel with gaining power, will also gain in the possibility of varying speed or opening.

It is thus easier to integrate "floating HP" type functions (adaptation of speeds and opening of the refrigerator circuit, depending on the temperature difference) which makes it possible to achieve significant operating savings, which can even give rise to energy savings certificates.

Furthermore, the "communicating" capacity can make it possible to monitor and control a device remotely, to better monitor a fleet of equipment, or to optimize your preventive maintenance, to improve the lifespan and efficiency of your investment.

 

Said in a few words: HFO devices which require more robust, more powerful and more sophisticated components will in return open up possibilities to more intelligently regulate their consumption and their lifespan, automatically and without loss of efficiency.

 

 

Our products: water cooling, oil cooling, industrial air conditioning...
We can support you on a "new device" project (for a new need or business development) as well as on a "retrofit" issue (to replace a device or renew a fleet of devices already in service), with solutions unitary, tailor-made, or series production.

Our services: relevance analysis, pre-study, quoting, prototyping, production, commissioning… our engineers and technicians are at your disposal to anticipate and succeed in your “HFO transition”.

HFO cooler spec sheet - EURODIFROID

 

 

Expert talking: Alexandre MORICHON, EURODIFROID fluid & testings manager, hydrogen expertise

EURODIFROID - Engineering office expertiseBureau d'études

 

 

“The transition to HFO gas solutions is necessary due to its ecological nature but above all for the sustainability of the industrial refrigeration activity.

This transition is an opportunity, for us and for our Customers, to develop efficient machines that are consistent with the environmental challenges of tomorrow.
Based on similarities, our mastery of old fluids and our efficient industrial tools, we are able to support our customers in their objectives of decarbonization and compliance with new environmental standards."

 

Your “gas” glossary

HFO solutions - New F-gas standards - EURODIFROID chillers / coolers
  • CFC: chlorofluorocarbons (example: R11), or 1st generation refrigerant gas (banned since 1987)
  • HCFC: hydrochlorofluorocarbons (example: R22), or 2nd generation gases, banned since 2010
  • HFC: hydrofluorocarbons (examples: R407A, R410A, R134A, R32, etc.), or 3rd generation gases, likely to be banned after 2030
  • HFO: hydrofluoro-olefins, or 4th generation refrigerants, with low GWP (example: R1234ze, R1234yf, etc.), which will be the only ones authorized from 2030
  • F-Gas: regulation applicable to all states of the European Union aimed at reducing greenhouse gases
  • GWP (Global Warming Potential): ratio of the warming power of a gas compared to that of CO2, thus giving an indication of its harmfulness with regard to the greenhouse effect.
    Example: the GWP of R410a is 2100 (i.e. 2100 times more harmful than CO2), while the GWP of R1234yf is only 4.
  • Cooling "Fluid" ? Cooling "Gas" ? : a refrigerant is a product with particular properties used for the production of heat or cold. Its state varies depending on the temperature or pressure: it can therefore be liquid, gaseous, or even both mixed.