Will the heat pump market move towards natural refrigerants?

Last week at the DeCarb Heat conference in Brussels, Belgium, Eric Delforge of Mayekawa Europe told this website that the transition from HCFCs to ammonia that has already taken place in the European industrial sector is also possible in the rest of the heat pump sector.

“[We in the industrial refrigeration sector] will show our colleagues at domestic heat pump manufacturers that it really makes sense from an economical point of view to produce units with natural refrigerants inside,” Delforge declared.

For Mayekawa, transitioning from chemical to natural refrigerants in the industrial sector was easy, according to Delforge. “99% of our systems are with ammonia and other natural refrigerants,” he said.

Delforge argues that greenhouse gas and not just carbon emissions must be reduced in order to tackle global warming. “Decarbonising the heat sector would not stop the rising temperatures,” he told the DeCarb Heat event.

He believes more needs to be done not just on the refrigerant side but also in terms of heat recovery – arguing that heat must always be automatically recovered from cooling systems. “The Carnot cycle produces hot and cold: that is being wasted [in heat pumps and refrigeration systems],” he said.

To make this circular solution viable, Delforge believes businesses need to change to facilitate a more integrated economy. “This may be integrated district heating projects,” he said by way of example.