The Effect of Blowing Agent Choice on Energy and 

Environmental Impact of a Refrigerator in Europe

Robert W Johnson

RWJ Consulting Inc.

 717 Mels Drive

 Evansville, IN 47712

 

ABSTRACT

A study, comparing the effect of blowing agent 

selection on energy consumption and the Life Cycle 

Climate Performance (LCCP) of a typical European 

refrigerator is discussed. Energy consumption of 

prototype European-style refrigerators made with a foam 

formulation with HFC-245fa as the blowing agent was 

measured and compared with energy consumption of the 

same model as currently produced (using a foam with a 

pentane blend for the blowing agent). Results were used 

in a LCCP study, considering both direct and indirect 

climate impacts due to blowing agent emissions and 

energy consumption in manufacturing processes and over 

the life cycle of the refrigerator. An assumption is made 

that the refrigerator is built and used in the European 

market. 

INTRODUCTION

The phase-out of CFC-11 as a foam-blowing agent, as 

called for under the Montreal Protocol, is well along for 

insulating foams in refrigerators and freezers. The most 

common replacements with zero ozone depletion potential 

have been c-pentane and mixtures of c-pentane with other 

hydrocarbons, along with some HFCs, including HFC134a, and HFC-245fa. Although HFCs account for only a 

small fraction of total greenhouse gas emissions, the 

global warming potential of most HFCs is quite large. 

This raises legitimate questions regarding the 

appropriateness of using HFCs as replacement blowing 

agents for foam. Refrigerators, however, make their 

largest contribution to global warming in an indirect 

manner as a result of the energy that they consume. 

Therefore, manufacturers have made different choices for 

the replacement, depending on their assessment of the 

relative merits of the available options. In Europe, 

hydrocarbons have been chosen because of the importance 

placed on direct emissions of global warming substances. 

Conversely, in North America strict energy standards and 

factory safety regulations have led to HFCs (mostly HFC245fa) as the preferred approach. 

This study is an attempt to analyze the relative merits of 

the two most popular options (a cyclopentane/pentane 

blend and HFC-245fa) through a limited life cycle analysis 

(LCA), considering only items related to the choice of 

blowing agent and its influence on the energy consumption 

and the total global warming impact, or “life cycle climate 

performance” (LCCP) of a refrigerator. The refrigerator 

considered in the study is a model commonly produced and 

used in Europe. Emissions and energy consumption at the 

blowing agent and refrigerator factories are included, but 

energy consumption associated with parts that are unrelated 

to the blowing agent is not considered. Expanding the 

analysis to include the items omitted in this study would be 

interesting, but the final results would not change, because 

the omitted items would be similar for both products 

considered.

PRODUCT INFORMATION AND KEY DATA

The refrigerator considered in the study is a 358-liter 

“combi” type product that has a fresh food section at the 

top and a freezer section at the bottom and is popular in 

Europe. Both sections have a “direct-cool” type 

refrigeration system. The refrigerant used in the products 

was R-600, which is commonly used in Europe and has no 

ozone depletion potential and a very low greenhouse 

warming potential. The pentane blend foam formulation 

used for the products tested was the same as is used for that 

model as it is produced in Italy. The blowing agent was a 

blend of 70% cyclopentane and 30% isopentane. The 

HFC-245fa formulation used for the comparison was the 

same as is used in a large North American refrigerator 

factory. The products were similar in all respects except the 

foam formulation and blowing agent. Energy tests were 

conducted per the ISO test procedure in facilities used to 

measure energy consumption for certification tests on 

products sold in Europe. Three products foamed with the 

pentane formulation and three products foamed with the 
HFC-245fa formulation were tested. Results for the three 

samples of each type were averaged for purposes of 

comparison. Analysis of the data indicated greater than 

90% confidence that the mean is within 2% of the true 

mean of the population for both products. Data for the 

products were furnished by the manufacturer and are 

summarized in Table 1.

Values used for other parameters important to the 

study are shown in Table 2. Carbon intensity values for 

Europe are EIA estimates for the year 2000[1]. Energy 

intensity estimates for highway and waterborne 

transportation were taken from a 1995 EIA report [2]. 

Although the transportation carbon intensity values were 

estimates for the U.S. economy, it is believed that they 

also are reasonable assumptions for Europe. Product 

lifetime is assumed to be 15 years, which is typical for 

Europe, although shorter than in North America.

DISPOSAL PRACTICES

The amount of foam blowing agent that ultimately 

escapes to the atmosphere is strongly dependent on what is 

done with the refrigerator at the end of its useful life. Some 

refrigerators are incinerated in municipal incinerators at the 

end of their useful life, in which case the blowing agent is 

destroyed. If the refrigerator is merely abandoned, or sent 

to a landfill with no processing, blowing agent will escape 

very slowly, with a significant amount remaining after 100 

years [6]. The UNEP Task Force on Collection, Recovery 

and Storage conducted a study of current disposal practices 

in North America, Europe, and Japan in 2001 [7]. The report 

estimates that in 2001approximately 60% of the foam from 

refrigerators decommissioned in Europe would go to 

landfills. Presumably, most would be shredded for recovery 

of the metal and the foam would be sent to the landfill, with 

no recovery of the blowing agent. Under these conditions, a 

recent study at the Danish Technical University (DTU) 

indicates that about 20% of the blowing agent will escape at 

the time of shredding, and the remainder will escape over 

time, with the rate of emission highly dependent on foam 

particle size [8]. The UNEP report indicates that disposal 

practices are expected to change in response to EU 

directives. Therefore, this study considered one case where 

60% of products go to landfills, and another where new 

practices are used and only 10% go to landfills.

FOAM AGING

Energy consumption measurements are usually made on 

new products. However, because foam degrades over time 

due to migration of blowing agent out and other gases in, 

energy consumption may increase over time. This 

increases global warming emissions associated with 

electricity consumption of the product. The Appliance 

Research Consortium sponsored a study at Oak Ridge 

National Laboratories to measure aging effects for several 

blowing agents. Results of that study have been reported in 

the literature by Wilkes [9]. Another study, involving tests 

on full products, was conducted and reported by Johnson 

Table 2. Key Data

Item Value Units Source

Carbon Intensity – All Europe .41 kg CO2 /kWh EIA Estimates [1]

Energy Intensity Highway Transport 3000 BTU / ton-mile EIA Report [2]

Energy Intensity Waterborne Transport 411 BTU / ton-mile EIA Report [2]

GWP -- HFC-245fa 950 IPCC [3]

GWP – c-pentane, n-pentane 3 IPCC [4]

Natural Gas (Energy) to produce HFC-245fa 0.017 MCF / lb Honeywell

Electricity to produce HFC-245fa: 1.83 kWh / lb Honeywell

CO2 Emissions for production of pentane 1.2 kg CO2 / kg APME [5]

Assumed product useful life 15 years

Table 1. Refrigerator Data (Source: Whirlpool)

Item HFC-245fa Model Pentane Model

Refrigerator Type Combi (358 liters) Combi (358 liters)

Amount of Blowing Agent 0.985 kg 0.393 kg

Energy Consumption (Average of 3) 398 kWh/yr 455 kWh/yr

Refrigerant R-600 R-600

Natural Gas to produce a refrigerator 0.0410 MCF/product 0.0410 MCF/product

Electricity to produce a refrigerator 7.16 kWh/product 7.16 kWh/product
[6]. Together, those studies provide information adequate 

to model the increase of refrigerator energy consumption 

due to foam aging. A combination of Johnson’s and 

Wilkes’ data was used to create a model for foam aging to 

predict energy consumption of the products over their 

useful life. The model is shown graphically in Figure 1, 

along with data points from Johnson’s report. Trends at 5 

years indicate that the model may slightly overestimate the 

aging effect for both foam types, but the difference 

between predicted energy consumption for the two foam 

types appears to match the data quite well. The model, 

together with the measured initial consumption, was used 

to estimate total energy consumption for each foam type 

over a 15-year period.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Energy Consumption

The energy consumption of the refrigerators for a 15-

year life was estimated, using the data from Table 1 and 

the aging model discussed above. Results are shown in 

Figure 2. The HFC-245fa products had an advantage in 

measured energy consumption of about 12%, relative to 

the c-pentane products. This advantage is larger than had 

been measured in previous tests conducted by the 

Appliance Research Consortium [10]. However, the foam 

formulations tested by the Consortium were representative 

of what was achievable at that time. The formulations 

used in the current study are improved and represent what 

is commercially available in 2003. The 12% initial energy 

consumption advantage for the HFC-245fa products grows 

to about 15% when aging effects over the life of the 

product are considered. This significant advantage in 

energy performance should be highly valued in most 

markets, including the European Union, which is dependent 

on imports for much of its energy supply [11].

Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP)

The data and assumptions discussed above were used in 

LCCP calculations that were made, considering sales into 

the European market, including Eastern Europe, but not 

former Soviet Union countries. In all cases analyzed, the 

dominant factor in the LCCP analysis is the indirect 

emissions of CO2 due to energy consumption of the 

product over its useful life. Even in the case where 60% of 

the HFC-245fa products are assumed to be shredded and 

sent to landfills after decommissioning, more than 80% of 

the global warming effect is due to electricity consumption 

of the product. Modern production facilities are designed to 

minimize emissions from the factory so that fugitive 

emissions in the HFC-245fa factory are less than 0.5% and 

account for less than 0.1% of the total warming effect, 

while blowing agent emissions during refrigerator 

production are estimated to be less than 2% and contribute 

no more than 0.6% of the warming effect. Transportation 

of the blowing agent results in insignificant emissions, even 

when considering shipping HFC-245fa across the Atlantic, 

while transportation of refrigerators accounts for 

approximately 0.3% of total global warming emissions, 

assuming an average 500 mile shipment by truck.

Results of the LCCP analysis are summarized in Figures 

3 and 4 which show two scenarios. Figure 3 reflects the 

case where disposal practices are assumed to be unchanged 

from those in place in 2001. Figure 4 reflects the case 

where disposal practices are assumed to change in response 

to EU directives for recycling and recovery so that only 

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

HFC-245fa Pentane Blend

Energy Consumption (kWh)

Figure 2. Product Lifetime Energy Consumption

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

0 5 10 15 20 25

Time (years)

Increase in Energy (%)

HFC-245fa

c-pentane

245fa Measured

c-pentane measured

Figure 1. Refrigerator Energy Aging
about 10% of the blowing agent that remains in a product 

at the end of its useful life escapes to the atmosphere. Data 

used for Figures 3 and 4 are shown in Table 3.

The relative insignificance of the miscellaneous items 

that are considered in the LCA is clearly seen. Emissions 

associated with energy consumed during the production 

process and transportation are very much less than those 

associated with energy consumption of the product or direct 

emissions of the blowing agent over the long term. The 

same is true for blowing agent emissions in the factories. 

Other Regions

Although Europe is of particular interest because of the 

debate regarding the use of HFCs in that market, it is also 

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

HFC-245fa Pentane

Blend

kg CO2 Equivalent

Long Term Emissions

Refrigerator Shredding

Emissions

Refrigerator Life BA

Emissions

Refrigerator Use Energy

Refrigerator Transport

Energy

Refrigerator Production

Energy

Refrigeator Production

BA Emissions

BA Transport Energy

BA Production

Emissions

BA Production Energy

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

HFC-245fa Pentane

Blend

kg CO2 Equivalent

Long Term Emissions

Refrigerator Shredding

Emissions

Refrigerator Life BA

Emissions

Refrigerator Use Energy

Refrigerator Transport

Energy

Refrigerator Production

Energy

Refrigerator Production

BA Emissions

BA Transport Energy

BA Production

Emissions

BA Production Energy

Figure 4: Emissions Comparison, Future Disposal Practices, 

10% Landfilled

Figure 3: Emissions Comparison, Current Disposal Practices, 

60% Landfilled

Item Current Disposal Practices Future Disposal Practices

HFC-245fa Pentane HFC-245fa Pentane

BA Production Energy 4.5 1.2 4.5 1.2

BA Production Emissions 2.8 0 2.8 0

BA Transport Energy 0.17 0.05 0.17 0.05

Refrigerator Production: BA Emissions 18.7 0.1 18.7 0.1

Refrigerator Production Energy 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0

Refrigerator Transport Energy 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0

Refrigerator Use Energy 2697 3198 2697 3198

Refrigerator Life BA Emissions 68.8 0.1 68.8 0.1

Refrigerator Shredding Emissions 101.8 0.1 17.0 0.1

Long Term Emissions 407.2 0.5 67.9 0.2

Total Impact 3306 3212 2882 3212

Table 3: LCCP Summary
important to consider the total warming impact of similar 

products in other regions. Calculations were made for 

other countries, using estimates for carbon intensity from 

EIA data[1] and disposal practice assumptions as follows: 

50% of decommissioned products in the U.S., Australia 

and New Zealand, 80% in Brazil, China, and India, and 

5% in Japan would go to shredders and landfills. It is clear 

from the results, as seen in Figure 5, that a product foamed 

with HFC-245fa would have less of a climate impact than 

a product foamed with the c-pentane blend in all of these 

regions, except Brazil, which has large hydroelectric 

resources. 

CONCLUSIONS

With current foam formulations, the use of HFC-245fa 

as a blowing agent, instead of a cyclopentane and npentane blend, offers a significant advantage in energy 

consumption for refrigerator/freezers of the type 

considered in this study. The advantage was over 12% for 

initial energy consumption and when aging differences are 

considered, the advantage is about 15% over the life of the 

product. 

The two blowing agents considered in this study are 

similar in terms of LCCP. In Europe the pentane product 

would have about a 3% advantage with 2001 disposal 

practices. But, if disposal practices improve, as called for 

in EU directives, the HFC-245fa product has nearly a 10% 

advantage in LCCP. In the other markets considered, the 

HFC-245fa products would typically have an advantage of 

between 5 and 10 percent, except in Brazil where the 

climate impact would be small in any case. 

By far the dominant item in LCCP is the energy 

consumption of the product and the associated emissions 

from the electricity generation system. Even if one assumes 

that there will be no improvement in disposal practices in 

response to EU directives, the power plant emissions 

associated with energy consumption account for more than 

80% of the total life cycle global warming impact of the 

product. Blowing agent emissions, including all stages of 

the product life cycle, usually account for approximately 

10% of the total warming impact in the case where HFC245fa is used as the blowing agent. Emissions due to 

energy consumption during manufacturing the blowing 

agent and the refrigerator are minor, amounting to less than 

1% of the total, as are emissions related to energy 

consumption for the transportation of the blowing agent and 

refrigerator.

Considering the many challenges faced by appliance 

manufacturers and the strong need to both save energy 

resources and limit global warming emissions, both HFCs 

and hydrocarbons should be available as long-term options 

for refrigerator insulating foam blowing agents. The 

advantage provided by HFC-245fa in reducing product 

energy consumption could be a valuable option to 

manufacturers as they develop products that meet 

aggressive energy saving goals and reduce total global 

warming emissions.

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

Europe USA Japan China India Australia&NZ Brazil

Warming Impact (kg CO2)

HFC-245fa

Pentane Blend

Figure 5: Warming Impact Comparison
References

1) Total Emissions Attributed to Electricity Generation -

- Source EIA estimates, Kevin Lillis 202-586-1395, 

Personal Communication

2) “MEASURING ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN THE 

UNITED STATES' ECONOMY: A BEGINNING” , 

October 1995, Energy Information Administration, 

Office of Energy Markets and End Use, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585

3) “CLIMATE CHANGE 2001: THE SCIENTIFIC 

BASIS”, IPCC Report, Working Group 

4) IPCC Second Assessment Report (1995)

5) I Boustead, “Ecoprofiles of Plastics and Related 

Intermediates”, APME, Brussels, 1999

6) Robert W. Johnson, "The Effect of Blowing Agent on 

Refrigerator/Freezer TEWI", Polyurethanes 

Conference 2000, Boston, Massachusetts, October 8-

11, 2000

7) UNEP Report of the Technology and Economic 

Assessment Panel: Volume 3A Report of the Task 

force on Collection, Recovery and Storage, April 

2002.

8) Scheutz and Kjeldsen, “Determination of the Fraction 

of Blowing Agent Released from Refrigerator/Freezer 

Foam after Decommissioning the Product”, 

Environment & Resources DTU, January 2002.

9) Wilkes, Gabbard, and Weaver, “Aging of 

Polyurethane Foam Insulation in Simulated 

Refrigerator Panels – One-Year Results with ThirdGeneration Blowing Agents”, Earth Technologies 

Forum, Washington, DC, 1999.

10) G. J. Haworth, 1996, “Next Generation Insulation 

Foam Blowing Agents for Refrigerators/Freezers”, 

Proceedings, International Conference on Ozone 

Protection Technologies, pp. 467-476, Washington, 

D.C. (1996).

11) “Green Paper: Towards a European Strategy for the 

Security of Energy Supply”, Presented by the 

Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, 

November 29, 2000.

BIOGRAPHY

Robert W Johnson

Bob Johnson is President of 

RWJ Consulting Inc. of 

Evansville, Indiana. He 

retired in 2001 from 

Whirlpool Corporation 

where he held various 

positions at the Refrigeration 

Technology Center. He 

received his BS in 

Mechanical Engineering 

from Michigan Tech and his 

MS and PhD degrees from Michigan State University. Bob 

has served on the UNEP Foams Technical Options 

Committee and is a member of the Appliance Research 

Consortium Board of Directors.