Heat Pumps and HFC
Chris Weightman, Nu-Heat’s Senior Development Engineer comments on the recent concerns about heat pumps and HFC (hydrofluorocarbon) gases (‘greenhouse’ gases) that have arisen after a report from Atlantic Consulting. HFC gases are completely manmade and can be harmful if released into the atmosphere.
Heat pumps do use HFC chemicals as part of the refrigerant process. However, Nu-Heat can state that the Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) is zero for all the refrigerants we supply. Most practical refrigerants do have a high Global Warming Potential (GWP), however manufacturing processes are carried out under extremely controlled conditions and no gas is allowed to be released during manufacture. After manufacture, all of the heat pumps supplied by Nu-Heat are hermetically sealed so that the chance of any gas being released is highly unlikely.
Nu-Heat’s view on this issue, therefore, is that although the HFC gases used in heat pumps are theoretically harmful, in practice there should never be a situation where any damage is done.
The Energy Saving Trust, author of a topical report on heat pump performance which reinforced Nu-Heat’s principle that optimum performance can only be achieved with first-rate design, said it is interested in looking into the issue of greenhouse gases and heat pumps and the findings of the study.
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Tags: energy, heat pumps