S ection 01 Alternatives to HCFCs in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector 6 Introduction Alternatives to HCFCs in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector Practical Guidelines and Case Studies for Equipment Conversion, Retrofit and Replacement Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are ozone depleting substances (ODS) controlled by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer that are widely used in refrigeration and air conditioning, foam blowing and solvent applications. In September 2007, the Parties to the Protocol accelerated the phase-out schedule for these chemicals through Decision XIX/6. Developing countries operating under Article 5 of the Protocol (Article 5 countries) now have to freeze by 2013 their HCFC production and consumption to the average of their 2009-2010 levels, followed by a 10 percent reduction by 2015, by 35 percent by 2020, by 67.5 percent by 2025, and a 100 percent phase-out by 2030 (with 2.5 percent allowed, if necessary, for servicing existing equipment until 2040). The same decision requires developed countries to accelerate their phase-out schedule by 10 years to completely eliminate HCFCs by 2020) with 0.5 percent allowed, if necessary, for servicing existing equipment until 2030). Action on HCFCs is important in that these chemicals have an impact on both ozone depletion and climate change. In terms of direct impact, the most commonly-used HCFCs have ozone depleting potentials (ODPs) ranging from 0.02 (HCFC-123) to 0.11 (HCFC-141b) and global warming potentials (GWPs) ranging from 76 (HCFC-123) to 2270 (HCFC-142b). Equipment using HCFCs consumes energy, which contributes to indirect global warming impacts. The refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) sector was the biggest consumer of CFCs and in preparation for the total CFC phase-out on January 1, 2010, it gradually shifted to the alternative refrigerants, including HCFCs. Today the sector has become one of the primary consumers of HCFCs and will need appropriate assistance to enable it to comply with the accelerated phase out. UNEP DTIE in cooperation with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has produced this publication to provide decision makers in Article 5 countries, the end-users and the service technicians a comprehensive source of information on alternative technologies that can be adopted to phase out HCFCs in the RAC. The report contains a section on alternative technologies including technical aspects and information on current market situation in developed countries (Article 2 countries) and Article 5 countries. Another section covers a collection of industry case studies that exemplifies state-of-the-art solutions using different technologies for different market segments.