Retrofit of R-410A in a water chiller: test of four low GWP candidates.

R-410A is one of the main refrigerants used for air conditioning and heat pump systems. This refrigerant has a high GWP and it is nowadays question of phasing it out (European F-gas directive). In Japan, R-32 is considered as a potential replacement for R-410A (Barve, 2012). This refrigerant permits to reduce the GWP from 2090 kgeq CO2 to 675 kgeq CO2 but presents an issue with the compressor outlet temperature especially in hot climate countries. HFO refrigerants gained attention recently especially with the European mobile air conditioning regulation. These refrigerants have a GWP lower than 10 but have lower volumetric cooling capacity than R-410A and flammability issues. Refrigerant manufacturers are currently developing new refrigerant blends permitting to match heating capacity of R-410A with low GWPs. Within the AHRI AREP initiative, four low GWP candidates for R-410A replacement are tested in a water chiller. This paper presents these test results.