Eiffel Tower goes Green with New Refrigerant
As the world pays more attention to carbon dioxide and improves its energy efficiency, refrigeration engineers are looking at the harmful impacts their refrigerants create when released. Original refrigerants R-11 and R-12 were very efficient, but destroyed ozone. So, R-22 and later R-134a were developed to have low to no ozone depletion potential (ODP). They seemed to be answer to environmental issues until it was discovered these new refrigerants have greenhouse warming potentials (GWP) of several thousand times that of CO2.
Scientists have been working on the next generation of poly-olefin refrigerants with near zero ODP and GWP. Honeywell has developed one called R-1234ze that the Sociétié d’Exploration de la Tour Eiffel (SETE) – the group that operates the Eiffel Tower – has installed in their new West Pillar HVAC systems.
The West Pillar houses the Information Center and Gift Shop, as well as some of the elevators (lifts) that take tourists up the top. French HVAC manufacturer ALM Froid (froid means cold in French) replaced the old R-407C system with a new system using the R-1234ze refrigerant. The result was far better energy performance for the same cooling capacity. Another benefit was the reduced GWP of the refrigerant, which helps SETE meet long term environmental goals. The old R-407C is a zeotropic mixture of refrigerants (32% – R32, 25% – R125, and 52% – R134a) that has a GWP of 1,774, or 1,774 times the greenhouse gas potential of CO2. The new R-1234ze has a GWP of just 1, or the same as CO2. So, any leaks from the system are not as harmful to the environment.
Work continues on the refrigerant development front as scientists try to find that “goldilocks” refrigerant that is efficient, non-toxic, and non-polluting. – Steve Terry, DTC HVAC & Refrigeration Instructor
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