Focus Article - Flammability of Refrigerant Blends

Recent changes to refrigerant safety standards due to efforts towards lowering ozone depletion (ODP) and lowering contribution to global warming (GWP) oblige producers to search for suitable replacements for HFC refrigerants, after EPA started to list certain HFC refrigerants as unacceptable for use. The search looks complicated and no matter what will be the final group of refrigerant replacements, they will certainly have to deal with flammability determination. This is where ASHRAE Std. 34 comes into play. ASHRAE Standard 34 -2016 “Designation and Safety Classification of Refrigerants” specifies rigorous testing, modeling and data collection process to which any newly formulated blend brought to the market must be subjected.