Environmental Test Chambers now with Climate-friendly R449A Refrigerant

Memmert is now converting the CTC climate test chamber and the TTC temperature test chamber to the R449A refrigerant. The operation of all appliances is thus ensured beyond 31/12/2019.

The F-Gas Regulation aims to reduce emissions from the industrial sector in the EU by 70% by 2030 compared to 1990. The aim is to reduce emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) by 70 million tonnes CO2-equivalent to 35 million tonnes CO2-equivalent by 2030. To this end, the utilisation of currently used fluorocarbons (HFCs) with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of more than 2500 will be phased out. For this reason, the R404A refrigerant frequently used in test cabinets with refrigeration systems is only permitted without restriction until 31 December 2019.

In order to give customers the certainty that their CTC/TTC environmental test chambers can also be operated beyond this date, Memmert has reacted early by switching to the R449A refrigerant. Existing appliances can also be converted to the new refrigerant in the ‘drop-in’ or ‘retrofit’ process, depending on the application. A leakage test can be performed as part of this.

To compare the contribution of substances to the warming of layers of air near the ground and thus to the greenhouse effect, the GWP value in relation to carbon dioxide (CO2) is used with the GWP value of 1. According to this formula, one kilogram of the R404A refrigerant contributes 3922 times as much to the greenhouse effect within the first 100 years of its release as one kilogram of CO2. The GWP value of the new R449A refrigerant is around 65% lower (GWP = 1397).