November 2013

The Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association

Vol. 13-04

1. Movement to R32 refrigerant in the Japanese market
Last year, Daikin was the first to launch residential air conditioners using R32 refrigerant for theJapanese market. Following this, Mitsubishi Electric, Hitachi and Panasonic announced their newmodels using R32 in this fall.
The total market share of these four companies accounts for about 80% and cumulative sales of R32
air conditioners have exceeded 800 thousand units. Seeing this momentum, the next generation
refrigerant of residential air conditioners for the Japanese market will be most likely R32.
JRAIA and JSRAE (the Japan Society of Refrigerant and Air Conditioning Engineers) are jointly
conducting a risk assessment of R32 and announce its progress reports every year. In the result that
manufacturers reviewed these progress reports and other risk assessments, they concluded that R32
can be used for wall-mounted RACs without a problem if suitable countermeasure is taken in case ofR32 leakage. With this conclusion, they all together announced R32 air conditioners.
Needless to say, Government or certain industry association does not make a decision on use of R32,
but it depends on each air conditioner manufacturer’s decision.
However, R32 has the advantage in cost and cooling performance over R410A. In addition to thisadvantage, switching to R32 is worth from the global warming prevention point of view as the GWPof R32 is one third of it of R410A. Furthermore R32 is easy to recover and reclaim because it is asingle component refrigerant.
Above mentioned risk assessment on mild flammability of R32 for PACs, VRF systems, chillers andother equipment is still in progress. If the completed assessment concludes there is no criticalproblem, then manufacturers would step forward to use R32 in those products.
However, there is the High Pressure Gas Safety Law in Japan, and legal interpretation of a positionof R32 is vague. For that, it is difficult to use R32 in applications having capacity of three statutetons or more unless R32 is defined as inert gas in the Law.
The industry is now requesting relaxation of regulations.
The next generation refrigerants will be a key theme in HVAC&R Japan held in January 2014,organized by JRAIA. Manufacturers will be extensively showcasing and demonstrating their R32products there.
12. ICARHMA Annual meeting 2013
ICARHMA Annual Meeting was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 28 October 2013. In behalf ofJRAIA, Chairman Mr. Okada, President Mr. Kishimoto and Mr. Kataoka attended the Meeting. Thepress release was immediately issued by the secretariat of ICARHMA. Kindly see the press release
below.
Global HVACR Associations Meet in Rio de Janeiro

Address global regulatory environment, refrigerant safety
Arlington, VA – The International Council of Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration, and Heating
Manufacturers Associations (ICARHMA) held its Annual Meeting today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The meeting of the global heating and cooling manufacturers’ association was hosted by ICARHMA’s
Brazilian member, ABRAVA.
Members addressed issues concerning the proper and safe handling of refrigerants, a growing global
regulatory environment that may inadvertently create non-tariff barriers to trade, and key points
the industry must introduce into discussions with governments. In a special presentation, Eng.
Manoel L.S. Gameiro, who serves as ABRAVA’s Vice President for Energy Efficiency, President of
GBC-Brasil, and Commercial Director, Ingersoll Rand – Trane do Brasil, described steps to achievesustainability in Brazil’s soccer arenas for the 2014 World Cup.
ICARHMA’s secretariat, the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, announced thatnext year’s Annual Meeting will be hosted by Eurovent in Berlin, Germany.

3. Domestic shipments
RAC

PAC

units

Y on Y basis %units

Y on Y basis %Jul

1,698,074

111.4

95,530107.5

Aug770,074

97.9

75,654101.4

Sep482,777

100.5

69,230103.0

RAC: Residential Air-conditioners PAC: Commercial Air-conditioners

24. HVAC&R Japan 2014
HVAC&R JAPAN 2014 (The 38th Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Refrigerating Expo)
organized by The Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association (JRAIA) will beheld at Tokyo Big Sight, an international exhibition hall in Tokyo, for four days from 28 (Tue) to31(Fri) January,2014.
We have planned HCAC&R JAPAN2014 as a venue at which the industry can introduce attendees toa range to temperature control devices under the theme “Looking into the future of Temperature
Technologies: State-of-the-art- Heating and Cooling Technologies That Play a Key Role in the World.”
In an effort to contribute to the realization of a society founded on innovative energy use andenvironmental responsibility, we will offer a new vision for the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning,and refrigeration industry through demonstrations of heating and cooling systems that makeeffective use of renewable energy and fossil fuels, BEMS/HEMS/FEMS, and the evolving world ofenergy management as seen in such areas as smart communities.
We’re also planning numerous concurrent events, including lectures featuring experts fromgovernment, academia, and industry; seminars introducing new-product trends, and tours of thefacility that supplies heat for space cooling and heating to Tokyo Sky Tree that is new digital
broadcasting tower.

Inquiry: Secretariat to HVAC&R JAPAN
6th floor, Chiyoda Bldg., 1-5-18 Sarugaku-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8449 Japan
TEL : (+81) 3-3219-3562

FAX : (+81) 3-3219-3628 E-mail : hvac@ics-inc.co.jp

5. The International Symposium 2014
JRAIA is pleased to inform you that The International Symposium 2014 will be held on 20th and21th November 2014 at Kobe in Japan. The participants will share the result of study forenvironment issue, new refrigerants and their system, safety analyses of 2L refrigerants,
compressors and lubricants, energy conservation, energy management system (EMS) and desiccant
air-conditioning system.

Please visit the below link for more information:
http://www.jraia.or.jp/english/symposium/index.html

Office: Kikai Shinko Bldg. 201. 3-5-8, Shibakoen, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0011, Japan
URL: http://www.jraia.or.jp Contact: tajima@jraia.or.jp:kao224@jraia.or.jp

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