Vol. 54 No. 2 (2017)   Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration
Technical Papers

"ETI-Z, GART-ZE/ZEI" Centrifugal Chillers using Low-GWP Refrigerants for Full Capacity Range

YOSHIE TOGANO
JUN MIYAMOTO
YOSHIE KANKI
KAZUMI SHIMIZU
TAKAAKI MIURA
YASUSHI HASEGAWA

In October 2016, the "Kigali Amendment" to the Montreal Protocol was adopted. It states that it is obligatory to phase down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which has set an important global trend in refrigerants. In developed countries, the target is an 85% reduction by 2036 from the respective reference years (2011-2013). As further enforcement of tougher regulations for HFC reduction can be expected, there is an urgent need to start using low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. From the viewpoint of product life cycle, it will become increasingly unlikely for centrifugal chillers using HFC refrigerants to be introduced. Under such circumstances, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems, Ltd. launched the ETI-Z series in September 2015 using HFO-1233zd(E) with a GWP of 1, and the GART-ZE/ZEI series in April 2017 using HFO-1234ze(E) with a GWP of