March 29, 2019 Global Warming

The contribution of HVAC manufacturers in reducing climate change.

March 28, 2019

Are you aware that the HVAC systems account for almost 40% of the entire energy consumption of a building? If your building consumes 100 units of energy in a month, 40 units will be consumed by the HVAC system. With climate change in mind, many homeowners are shifting to energy-efficient homes, but what about the ones who can’t? One solution that HVAC manufacturers have come up with is using low GWP refrigerant. The low global warming potential creates a massive difference in conserving energy. These refrigerants are less likely to add to climate change.

The transition to GWP compressors

The government policies in North America specified that GWP compressors would be the industry standard that all HVAC supplies should follow. But with the developments in the United States, the transition was slower than expected. In 2015, there was a proposal put forward by the Obama administration to abolish the use of HFC. HFC was one of the ingredients in the refrigerants that contributed to the ozone-layer depletion. It became mandatory to stop producing HFC and find an alternative that will not have ozone-depleting qualities.

In 2016, the final decision to phase out HFC was taken in the Kigali Agreement, and that initiated the introduction of GWP compressors. The agreement also stated that HVAC manufacturers should come up with equipment and parts that meet the global environmental standards. According to the European Union’s F-Gas regulation, the goal is to reduce the effects of HFCs by 79% by the end of 2030.

Many countries have already started to welcome the change as a collective means to reduce climate change. The manufacturers are adopting the HFC reduction policies, and the use of GWP refrigerants are already underway. Some of the leading HVAC manufacturers in the world have also taken a step ahead to bring more modifications to the GWP compressors that will reduce the impact of the HVAC systems to global warming. Their mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from HVACs by as much as 50% by 2020 is worth a challenge. According to their projections, they will be able to reduce the global warming effects by 70% by 2025.

Why is the change unavoidable?

The change in HVAC systems is inevitable. Most of the HVAC manufacturers are already changing to GWP refrigerants, and although this has increased the cost of HVAC systems slightly, the collective effort to reduce climate change is worth the money you pay.

A big reason to shout out for a change in the system is that HFC is more potent than carbon dioxide. It is a thousand times more dangerous than CO2, and that is a big concern for the environment. Experts believe that if HFCs are abolished completely, there will be a 0.5-degree Celsius reduction in temperature. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on F-Gas regulation) predicts that there will be a temperature rise by 5 degrees by 2100, but if there is a subsequent reduction due to the decrease of HFCs, climate change may still be in balance to help mankind survive.

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