SightGlass

Queensland hydrocarbon refrigerant regulation not stopping the rot

Queensland VASA members are encountering hydrocarbon refrigerant use among their client base, including heavy transport firms contracted to the resources sector and large-scale farming businesses. One example is a transport company that would use one VASA member’s workshop for three or four air conditioning jobs per week and provided a significant source of revenue. A … Continue reading Queensland hydrocarbon refrigerant regulation not stopping the rot

Hong Kong Legislative Council building

Following criticism from the Office of the Ombudsman after an investigation into a 2013 air conditioning fire and explosion that injured more than 20 people and caused extensive property damage, the Hong Kong government is advising the trade not to retrofit systems with flammable refrigerants. In its damning report into the 2013 Ma On Shan … Continue reading Hong Kong government advises against retrofits after HC blast

European Union submission to the Montreal Protocol amendment

There has been a lot of promising progress toward a global phase-down of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol in recent months, with just a couple of spanners in the works. Many are hopeful that an international agreement will be forged his year with the Open-Ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol meeting … Continue reading Global HFC phase-down progress

Burning question

Numerous technicians in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Spain and Vietnam have been killed or injured in recent weeks in a spate mysterious air conditioning explosions, according to sketchy, often contradictory media reports from those countries. In the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, four or five workers were taken to hospital for treatment of burns ranging from seven to … Continue reading Mysterious spate of deadly AC explosions

NZ refrigerant recovery flyer

New Zealand branches of Patton and BOC Gas & Gear in Blenheim, Nelson, Greymouth, Timaru, Dunedin and Invercargill are accepting refrigerant recovery cylinders in two-week stints between July and October 2015. All unwanted refrigerants are accepted, with emptied cylinders returned two weeks after drop-off. Certified cylinders are preferred, although cylinders with expired test dates will … Continue reading BOC weighs into NZ refrigerant recovery program

Suzuki Vitara refrigerant label

Rodney Smith from CoolCar Air-Conditioning Centre Hamilton conducted a mini survey on New Zealand-new cars displayed at the New Zealand Agricultural Fieldays near Hamilton in June 2015. He wanted to get a feel for what refrigerant was in the air-conditioning of the latest cars and talk to the sales staff on the stands.  A similar review … Continue reading Snapshot of NZ new car AC refrigerant

Webb dock in Port Melbourne

The Abbott Government’s proposal to relax new vehicle importation laws and enable personal imports of new cars could accelerate the uptake of R1234yf in Australia if the legislation passes. On some production lines, only models destined for countries where low global warming potential refrigerants are either compulsory or receive fuel efficiency credits are fitted with … Continue reading New car import laws could accelerate R1234yf growth in Australia

Flammable gas placard

Growing use of flammable refrigerants like R1234yf has prompted the United States Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) to establish a subcommittee that will review safety issues related to mildly flammable ‘A2L’ class substances. In addition to representation from the refrigeration and air conditioning sector, the safety subcommittee will comprise flammability experts and people … Continue reading More A2L flammable safety studies

Audi A8

World’s second-largest carmaker commits to R744 as AC refrigerant German automotive giant Volkswagen Group hit the headlines in March when it confirmed its pursuit of carbon dioxide as an air conditioning refrigerant as part of a plan to become the world’s most environmentally sustainable carmaker by 2018. According to German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau, VW Group … Continue reading CO2 refrigerant for VW Group