AHRI Research Activities on
Low GWP Refrigerants
November 12, 2019
Xudong WANG
Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration InstituteAHRI is a Trade Association
320:

Member Companies: Over 95% of all HVACR products
manufactured and installed in North America

102:

AHRI standards and guidelines in use across the globe

40:

AHRI Certification Programs: Over 900 participants
representing over 70% of all HVACR products
manufactured globally

AHRI Members Manufacture:
Residential and commercial central air
conditioners, heat pumps, andcomponents
Residential and commercial furnaces,boilers, and components
Residential and commercial waterheaters and components
Commercial refrigeration equipment
and components

AHRI Low GWP Refrigerants Research
SafetyAHRTI Flammable Refrigerants ResearchPerformance
AHRI Low GWP Alternative
Refrigerants Evaluation
ProgramUse of low GWP
refrigerants
Compatibility &property data
AHRTI Low GWP Refrigerants Heat Transfer,
Properties and Compatibility Studies

Low-GWP Alternative Refrigerants Evaluation
Program (AREP)• Industry-wide cooperative research & testing program to identify
suitable alternatives to high GWP refrigerants• Evaluation of candidates strongly desired by OEMs
• The program is NOT to prioritize refrigerants, rather test and present
objective results in a consistent manner• Completed in 2016
• 50+ low GWP refrigerants were evaluated, and 67 test reports were published atAHRI website (http://ahrinet.org/arep).
• Viable low GWP refrigerants exist• Many promising refrigerants are classified as 2L under ASHRAE Standard 34(mildly flammable)

AHRTI Flammable Refrigerant Research• A collaborated research program is supported by• AHRI ($1.3 million)• ASHRAE ($1.3 million)• California Air Resource Board ($0.3 million)• US Department of Energy ($3.3 million)• The objective is to• produce publicly available technical results to support code and standard
activities related to the use of flammable refrigerants.

AHRTI Flammable Refrigerant Research• The program is administered and coordinated by AHRTI Flammable
Refrigerants Subcommittee (FRS).
• The FRS had surveyed relevant codes and standards committees andorganizations on:• the main knowledge gaps for the use of 2L flammable refrigerants• any standing issues and gaps that require additional research• current and past research activities on flammable refrigerants• High priority projects were launched and carried out collaboratively
by AHRTI, ASHRAE, NIST and ORNLAHRTI Flammable Refrigerant Research• AHRTI Conducting:• AHRTI-9007: Benchmarking Risk by Whole Room Scale Leaks and Ignitions
Testing• AHRTI-9008: Investigation of Hot surface Ignition Temperature (HSIT) for A2L
Refrigerants• AHRTI-9009: Leak Detection of A2L Refrigerants in HVACR Equipment• AHRTI-9014: Assess Refrigerant Detector Characteristics for Use in HVACREquipment• AHRTI-9015: Assessment of Refrigerant Leakage Mitigation Effectiveness for
Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Equipment

AHRTI Flammable Refrigerant Research• DOE funding:• ORNL: Investigate the proper basis for setting charge limits of A2L, A2, and A3
for various types of products• ORNL: Experimental Evaluation of Refrigerant Leak Characteristics forDifferent HVAC&R Equipment Types• NIST: Modeling tools for low-GWP refrigerant blends flammability

AHRTI Flammable Refrigerant Research• ASHRAE conducting:• ASHRAE-1806: Flammable Refrigerants Post-Ignition Simulation and Risk
Assessment Update• ASHRAE-1807:Guidelines for Flammable Refrigerant Handling, Transporting,
Storing and Equipment Servicing, Installation and Dismantling• ASHRAE-1808: Servicing and Installing Equipment using FlammableRefrigerants: Assessment of Field-made Mechanical Joints• ASHRAE-1855: Determination of the Impact of Combustion byproducts on theSafe Use of Flammable Fluorinated Refrigerants

AHRTI Low GWP Refrigerants Compatibility
Research• Recent DOE award on generating necessary low GWP refrigerants data
• Goal:• to develop a critical refrigerant database for manufacturers to implement low
GWP refrigerants.

• Scope of work:• characterize low GWP refrigerants heat transfer performance (ORNL)• develop refrigerant properties (NIST)• evaluate refrigerants stability and compatibility with lubricants and materials(AHRTI)

Questions?
Contact:Xudong Wang
Email: xwang@ahrinet.org Tel: 703-600-0305