Paper No 247 – Increasing flammable refrigerant charge size without compromising safety – 13th IEA Heat Pump Conference, Jeju, Korea
Propane, namely R290, is a perfect candidate to replace hydrofluorocarbon that can help the European Union reaching the 2050 target in terms of CO2 emissions. However, wide introduction of R290 in products are effectively hindered by international safety standards that limit the allowable charge size of flammable refrigerants. LIFE, the European Union financing instrument for the environment and climate action is financing a project aiming at establishing technical evidence demonstrating that safety is not compromised while increasing the refrigerant charge size of R290 in heat pumps provided that adapted mitigation measures are in place. Within the LIFE FRONT project, a test procedure aiming at assessing the risk that may be induced by a heat pump using R290 in case a leak is occurring has been defined. Two water based heat pump prototypes designed to operate with R290 were then tested according to the defined procedure. The tests demonstrate that an appropriate design can ensure a safe operation of a heat pump while increasing the refrigerant charge size well above the 150g limit recommended in the safety standard.