Climate control gas a threat to environment

The federal government is introducing legislation that effectively outlaws the automotive industry's standard air conditioning refrigerant, R134a.

An ozone layer-friendly gas when it was introduced to Australia back in 1995, R134a is itself now perceived to be damaging to the environment. R134a has since been classified as a 'high global warming potential' gas. The chlorofluorocarbon-based R12 it replaced would be even more harmful if it had remained available.

The new legislation will take effect from January 2018 and R134a will begin to be 'phased down' from that time. Already, many car companies and gas suppliers are making the migration to R1234yf, which has a GWP rating of 4 and breaks down chemically within a week. The new refrigerant has been running through air conditioning systems of certain cars sold in Australian since 2014.

In contrast with R1234yf, R134a has a GWP rating of 1440 – and takes over 13 years to break down to its core chemical components. R12 has a GWP rating of 8500 and takes 150 years to break down.

Another refrigerant, R744, contains carbon dioxide and is expected to gain ground in this market in high-end luxury cars. By being CO2-based and drawn from the atmosphere, it only replaces existing carbon-dioxide, it doesn't add more. That makes it carbon-neutral, with a GWP rating of 1. But the problem with R744 is that it requires different plumbing for the climate control system.

R1234yf can run in the same air conditioning systems as R134a, so there's little cost to change over – if any – to the new gas. That's a very different situation from 1995, when the air conditioning hardware in a car had to be replaced to cope with the then new R134a refrigerant.

Industry associations VASA and Refrigerants Australia have embraced the new refrigerants – and recommend to their members that they get on board at the earliest opportunity.

“There are new technologies being rolled out for automotive air-conditioning, including R1234yf and CO2, that meet these requirements. New procedures, however, will need to be developed by the industry to maintain safety, ensure environmental performance, and guarantee that car owners are well looked after,” says VASA President, Ian Stangroome.

The end of R134a in automotive climate control systems is expected to reduce hydrofluorocarbon emissions by 85 per cent between now and 2036. Australia is one of several markets committed to the phase-down of R134a, including the USA, the European Union and Japan.

“The refrigeration and air conditioning industry actively supports a phase down of the global warming potential of HFC refrigerants over the next two decades: this both guarantees improved environmental outcomes while also giving industry long-term certainty,” says Dr Greg Picker, Executive Director of Refrigerants Australia.