ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - 36
TECHNICAL FEATURE
Preventing Refrigerant
Leaks in Heat Pump
Systems
BY JON HARROD, PH.D.; IAN M. SHAPIRO, P.E., MEMBER ASHRAE
Heat pumps are viewed as the primary path to the electrification required to reduce
and eliminate fossil fuels and associated carbon emissions in building energy systems.
However, most heat pumps used in the U.S. today contain R-410A, which is itself a
relatively potent greenhouse gas. Preventing refrigerant leaks is therefore a priority.
This article examines the issue and suggests best practices to prevent refrigerant leaks.
Replacing fossil-fuel burning furnaces and boilers
with electric heat pumps is an important tool for reducing carbon emissions. Inverter-driven, variable-speed,
air-source heat pumps (ASHPs), in particular, are an
efficient, affordable and scalable technology (Figure 1).
Cold-climate models, which can operate at temperatures below 0°F (-17.8°C), have been used successfully
throughout the Northern U.S. and Canada.
Most ASHPs are direct-exchange split systems. " Split "
refers to separate indoor and outdoor units, which
are connected by site-installed refrigerant piping.
" Direct exchange " means that heat is carried between
indoor and outdoor units by refrigerant rather than a
secondary fluid, such as antifreeze. In winter, refrigerant absorbs heat from cold outdoor air and releases it
indoors; in summer, the cycle is reversed. Modern heat
pumps can deliver roughly three units of heat energy
for each unit of electrical energy consumed, on average,
over a heating season, depending on location. As a
result, installing heat pumps reduces CO2 emissions,
even in fossil-fuel-dominated electric grids. As grids
incorporate more renewable energy, CO2 emissions
from heat pumps will continue to drop.1
However, R-410A, used in most residential heat
pumps in North America, has a 100-year global warming impact 2,088 times that of CO2, e.g., a global warming potential or GWP of 2,088.2 If refrigerants remain
within a heat pump system, no harm is done. It is only
when they escape to the atmosphere, through leaks or
during decommissioning, that damage occurs.
Unfortunately, refrigerant leaks are common. A 2014
British study* found that 10% of residential heat pumps
leaked, and that 3.8% of total refrigerant charge was lost
to the atmosphere annually.3 The study reported that
*The authors concluded that net climate impacts of heat pumps are
highly beneficial, even when refrigerant leaks are taken into account.
Jon Harrod, Ph.D., is president of Snug Planet, LLC, Ithaca, N.Y. Ian M. Shapiro, P.E., is founder of Taitem Engineering, PC, Ithaca, N.Y.
36
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ASHRAE Journal - January 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - January 2021
Contents
ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - Intro
ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - Cover1
ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - Cover2
ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - 1
ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - 1a
ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - 1b
ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - Contents
ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - 3
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ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - Cover3
ASHRAE Journal - January 2021 - Cover4
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