Heat Pump Cycle Using Refrigerant Mixtures of HFC32 and HFO1234yf

Countermeasures for global warming have been promoted internationally. Heat pump cycles that utilize refrigerants with high global warming potential values are required to adopt the next generation refrigerants to conform to the revised Montreal Protocol. Refrigerants R410A is commonly used in the room air conditioners while it has been substituted with HFC32 in Japan; yet their global warming potential values are relatively high and are going to be phased down in the near future. On the other hand, refrigerant mixtures such as the blend of HFC32 and HFO1234yf with extremely low global warming potential can be considered as possible alternatives in compromising the flammability and the ecological tribulations. Targeting the global warming potential value of 150 or lower, the performance of HFC32/HFO1234yf (22/78 mass%) blend was evaluated using drop-in tests, and the results were compared with those of R410A and HFC32. Optimum charge amounts for these refrigerants were first evaluated, followed by the performance comparison in terms of the coefficient of performance from part- to full-load operations. The results showed that the current blend with the low global warming potential less than 150 is comparable to the targeted substitutes at part-load operations while within 83–87% of the COP using HFC32 was achievable at the full-load. The performance results from these experiments could serve as the basis for the refrigerant evaluation targeting the global warming potential 150.