Refrigerant transition: what the new F-gas rules mean for your system

01From “less” to “none”

With Regulation (EU) 2024/573, the EU has turned the gradual reduction of fluorinated refrigerants into a binding phase-out. The quantity that may be placed on the market each year is capped in CO₂ equivalents – and falls in large steps. Switzerland is aligning its Chemical Risk Reduction Ordinance (ORRChem) with these rules.

Because the calculation is made in CO₂ equivalents, a refrigerant with a high global warming potential “costs” a particularly large amount of quota per kilogram. Widely used refrigerants such as R404A or R410A are therefore becoming scarce and expensive – long before an explicit ban takes effect. In addition, staggered bans apply to new equipment: for many compact air-conditioning units and heat pumps, a limit of GWP 150 already applies from 2027.

02What this means for existing systems

Existing systems may continue to operate. The risk lies in supply: if a system with a refrigerant that is being phased out has to be repaired or recharged in five years’ time, this will be expensive or no longer possible at all with virgin refrigerant. For every system using R404A, R410A or R134a, it is therefore worth asking today whether the refrigerant will remain available until the planned end of service life – and whether a planned replacement should be brought forward.

03Three natural refrigerants, three hazard profiles

The alternatives are technically mature, but they behave in fundamentally different ways:

• CO₂ (R744) is neither flammable nor toxic, but it is heavier than air. In the event of a leak, it collects at floor level and displaces oxygen without any odour. Oxygen sensors near the floor and forced ventilation are required. In addition, CO₂ systems operate at pressures of over 100 bar – components from conventional systems cannot be transferred.
• Propane (R290) is highly flammable. It requires classification into Ex zones and an explosion protection document, which the operator must provide.
• Ammonia (R717) is toxic, but its pungent odour itself provides a warning. It requires a separate machinery room, a gas detection system and an evacuation concept – proven for over a hundred years in industrial refrigeration.

CO₂ also has a weakness in summer: above around 31 °C, the cycle operates “transcritically”, and efficiency drops noticeably. Sites with hot summers therefore need targeted countermeasures such as ejectors or parallel compression – this belongs in the economic feasibility calculation, not in later rectification.

04The sequence is decisive

The most common planning error is to choose the system first and then “add on” the safety concept. The correct approach is the reverse: the hazard profile of the refrigerant determines the installation location, machinery room, ventilation and detection – and therefore floor space and costs. Clarifying this early avoids redesign when the permitting authority or Suva set out their requirements.

Takeaway

Natural refrigerants are future-proof but not interchangeable: CO₂ displaces oxygen, propane is flammable, ammonia is toxic – each requires its own protection concept.

SEDC AG · Article from our internal training series “Technik Praxis”, abridged for clients and users.