MHI Thermal Systems Develops Demonstration Unit of the World’s First Small-Capacity Residential Air-Conditioner Adopting the Low-GWP R454C Refrigerant

Premiering for the first time in the world, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Thermal Systems, Ltd., a Group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,
Ltd. (MHI) (TOKYO: 7011), is adopting R454C, a refrigerant with an
extremely low global warming potential (GWP), in a 1-horsepower (HP)
class residential air-conditioner. The conventional shortcomings of the
R454C,for example; inferior heat exchanger performance attributable to
it being a mixed refrigerant have been overcome through the use of
proprietary technology that optimize the heat exchanger’s flow volume
and other measures. The company has already developed a demonstration
unit of the residential air-conditioner featuring R454C and preparations
are underway towards mass production with an eye on an initial launch
into the European market, where environmental regulations are
particularly stringent.

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Residential type air conditioner (Photo: Business Wire)

The R454C refrigerant has an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of 0 (zero)
and a GWP of 146 (CO₂=1). The latter value is approximately
1/14th and 1/5th the respective GWP levels of refrigerants currently and
most widely used in air-conditioners of small/medium scale: R410A (2090)
and R32 (675). The overall global warming impact (GWP x refrigerant
volume) from the demonstration unit’s refrigerant represents a 91.3%
reduction from the level of MHI Thermal Systems’ previous model for the
European market*¹.

Worldwide initiatives aimed at stopping global warming were strengthened
in October 2016 with the adoption of the “Kigali Amendment” to the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Named
after the capital city of Rwanda where the delegates met, the Kigali
Amendment mandates progressive reduction in hydrofluorocarbons (HFC),
substances that do not deplete the ozone but do adversely impact global
warming*². In addition, since 2015 the member nations of the
European Union (EU), where environmental awareness is deeply entrenched,
have gradually expanded regulations affecting the sale and usage of
substances, including HFCs, that have GWP values of 150 and higher,
contributing to global warming. MHI Thermal Systems’ development of the
world’s first small-capacity residential air-conditioner adopting the
R454C refrigerant is thus a leading and positive response to these
international movements.

Going forward, MHI Thermal Systems will continue to dedicate its
resources to developing and marketing high-performance products using
low-GWP refrigerants, thereby contributing to protection of the global
environment in markets everywhere.

About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), headquartered in Tokyo, is one
of the world’s leading industrial firms with 80,000 group employees and
annual consolidated revenues of around 38 billion U.S. dollars. For more
than 130 years, the company has channeled big thinking into innovative
and integrated solutions that move the world forward. MHI owns a unique
business portfolio covering land, sea, sky and even space. MHI delivers
innovative and integrated solutions across a wide range of industries
from commercial aviation and transportation to power plants and gas
turbines, and from machinery and infrastructure to integrated defense
and space systems.
For more information, please visit MHI’s
website: www.mhi.com/index.html
For
Technology, Trends and Tangents, visit MHI’s new online media SPECTRA:
spectra.mhi.com

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