| Summary: | The performance evaluation of a small capacity split unit air-conditioner when
retrofitted with hydrocarbon refrigerant (HC22) was presented in this paper. Unlike
traditional hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant (HCFC22) which possess ozone depletion
potential (ODP) and high global warming potential (GWP), the HC22 refrigerant has
zero ODP and a GWP value less than 3. Experimental work was carried out in a
controlled environment which mimics an office room, with surrounding temperature
varied from 25°C, 30°C and 35°C to simulate the typical cooling loads in Malaysia. The
performance of HC22 refrigerant was compared with that of HCFC22 at these
temperatures. The results show that the coefficient of performance (COP) of HC22 is
higher, ranging from 3.5% to about 11% in comparison to HC22. The observation during
experiments also shows that a typical HCFC22 can be retrofitted without any issue. The
COP values obtained were 6.03, 6.35 and 6.15 for HC22 and 5.71, 5.66 and 5.63 for
HCFC22 respectively. It can be concluded from this study that HC22 can be retrofitted
directly to a HCFC system but other issues such as refrigerant flammability and safety
issues shall be taken into account.
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