S R C C Alternatives to H F s in the efrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector ection 01 13 Under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, developing countries (i.e. countries that operate under Article 5 of that agreement) have developed strategies and successfully implemented measures which have phased out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - ODS with high ODP – by 1 January 2010. In the coming years, the focus will be to move away from the HCFCs, substances with lower ODP values which have been used as transitional replacements while CFCs were being phased out. In Article 5 countries, HCFCs are scheduled to be completely phased out by 2030 (with a small servicing tail of only 2.5% allowed from 2030-2040). This might seem to be a long time, but many countries are increasing their consumption of HCFCs rapidly and risk building an HCFC-based infrastructure that can be costly and complicated to convert to non–ODS refrigerants in the future. The freeze in 2013 (baseline is the average HCFC consumption between 2009 and 2010) will become a challenge if measures are not initiated immediately. It is important to ensure that all HCFC consumption (production and import - export) is correctly reported prior to baseline of 2009-2010 and freeze year of 2013, and that early actions are taken to reduce new HCFC consumption to a minimum. The first priority should be to stop all new installations using HCFCs as soon as possible. There is a special challenge for countries importing HCFC-22 (R-22) equipment as they are shipped pre-charged with the refrigerant and does not count in the calculation of the country’s HCFC consumption baseline. As these equipment become old and servicing needs increase, only a limited quantity of HCFCs will be available on the market. Many Article 5 countries have no HCFC equipment production, but imports of R-22 air conditioning units are quickly increasing. Equipment that use alternative refrigerants are readily available for a slightly higher price, but it should also be kept in mind that R-22 equipment on the market are of an older design, whereas newer models have been redesigned to meet much higher energy efficiency standards. Therefore the installation of such equipment, while slightly higher in cost, will lead to additional energy savings in the long run. Many of the substances used to replace HCFCs have a significant GWP which should be taken into account when alternative technologies are evaluated. The selection of alternative substances and technologies will significantly affect the future impact on the climate from this sector. Both the direct impact from the chosen substances and the energy consumed will depend on the technologies selected. 1.1 Background 01 Alternatives to HCFCs in refrigeration and air conditioning