February 6, 2012 — Emerson Climate Technologies announced its Design Services Network business is available to assist in the design, development and testing for the refrigerants newly approved by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA). The EPA Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) is responsible for evaluating substitute chemicals and technologies for ozone-depleting substances. In December 2011, the EPA announced the approval of R290 (propane), R600a (isobutane) and R441a for use in commercial and residential refrigerators and freezers.
The primary benefits of these substitute refrigerants would be to:
- Reduce the direct Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the refrigerant to near zero in order to significantly mitigate the refrigerant’s impact on global climate change
- Potentially improve equipment energy efficiency to reduce the indirect GWP of CO2 emissions generated during electricity production
- Reduce electricity demand and associated facility operating costs
- Employ “renewable” refrigerant gases which are by-products of various processes, thus generating a lower carbon footprint refrigerant at a lower cost than today’s manufactured alternatives
“Emerson Climate Technologies fully supports initiatives to apply alternate refrigerants in an effort to mitigate the use of higher global warming potential refrigerants,” said Rajan Rajendran, Ph.D., director of engineering services at Emerson. “To date, Emerson has been involved in the selection and application of R290 propane compressors and condensing units. These have been tested in prototype equipment designs requiring 150 grams or less of propane refrigerant.”
Propane compressors will be available in the Emerson AFE, ASE, RFT, and RST models and for its M line condensing units.
Emerson’s Design Services Network business provides fully customizable expert engineering and testing services to air conditioning and refrigeration OEM customers in reaching their new product development and enhancement goals. As an Underwriters Laboratories (UL) third party test lab, Design Services Network can perform a variety of standardized UL safety tests. The lab is ISO/IEC 17025-accredited and is EPA-approved as a third party test lab for the ENERGY STAR Program.
About Emerson Climate Technologies
Emerson Climate Technologies, a business of Emerson, is the world’s leading provider of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration solutions for residential, industrial and commercial applications. The group combines best-in-class technology with proven engineering, design, distribution, educational and monitoring services to provide customized, integrated climate-control solutions for customers worldwide. The innovative solutions of Emerson Climate Technologies, which include industry-leading brands such as Copeland Scroll and White-Rodgers, improve human comfort, safeguard food and protect the environment.
