Daikin to Adopt Next-Generation Energy-Saving Refrigerant for All Home Air Conditioners in Japan

Daikin Industries, a leading Japanese manufacturer of air-conditioning systems, announced on September 27, 2012, its adoption of HFC32, a hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant having only one-third of the global warming potential of the conventional refrigerant HFC410A (according to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report), for all successive models of residential air conditioners being launched in Japan from fall 2012.

Compared with HFC410A, HFC32 has a lower global warming impact and better energy efficiency; thus, it can help curtail greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumed when air conditioning equipment is in use. Additionally, HFC32 contributes to reducing the amount of refrigerant needed per air conditioning unit, and therefore, to reducing the size of air conditioner components, such as heat exchangers. It is also suitable for refrigerant recycling, which Daikin aims to achieve in the future. Furthermore, as HFC32 has similar properties, such as pressure, as HFC410A, it requires almost no changes to construction facilities in conjunction with refrigerant conversion.

In September 2011, Daikin gave developing countries free access to its "Basic Patent Essential to Manufacture and Sale of Air Conditioners Using HFC32" so that each country could set up an environment that facilitates the widespread use of HFC32 air conditioners. Starting with domestic residential air conditioners, Daikin intends to expand the use of the next-generation refrigerant in other countries, and ultimately apply it to commercial air conditioning equipment.