refrigerant

Climate | Energy

Commercial Refrigeration

refrigeration unit

Commercial refrigeration systems are used to keep goods fresh and deep-frozen, especially foodstuffs, but also flowers and pharmaceutical products. They are installed, for example, in specialist food retailers and in catering applications. Nowadays, climate-friendly solutions with natural refrigerants are available for all system technologies. read more

Climate | Energy

Climate friendly mobile air conditioning for buses

a black and yellow bus of the BVG with inscription "CO2"

Buses are eco-friendly means of transport, nevertheless their climate performance can be increased still further. Today’s mobile air conditioning systems in buses still use the refrigerant tetrafluoroethane (R134a), a greenhouse gas with a 1,430 times higher impact to the climate than carbon dioxide. There is a climate friendly alternative: Some city buses already use CO2 air conditioning systems. read more

Climate | Energy

Eco-friendly transport refrigeration

Transport of refrigerated and chilled products like food is on the rise worldwide. Whether goods are transported on the road, by train or ship, the cooling temperatures must be maintained exactly. Many transport refrigeration units contain fluorinated refrigerants acting as greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These substances need to be replaced by refrigerants having less impact on the climate. read more

Climate | Energy

Supermarket refrigeration

indoor sight of a supermarket

According to the VDMA, around 36,500 centralized refrigeration systems and over 540,000 plug-in refrigeration units were installed in German supermarkets, discounter, hypermarkets and other food retail stores in 2017. Fluorinated refrigerants are still the most common in existing systems. read more

Climate | Energy

Emission trajectories

As a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Germany is required to elaborate annual emission inventories, including for fluorinated greenhouse gases. read more

Climate | Energy

Mobile air conditioning with fluorinated refrigerants

The photo shows that the fluorinated refrigerant 1234yf burned during the laboratory test.

An EU directive bans the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases with global warming potential exceeding 150 for mobile air conditioning systems in motor vehicles since January 2011. Thus the current refrigerant tetrafluoroethane (R134a) has to be replaced. Tests in laboratory and car showed that the new refrigerant 1234yf selected by car industry can lead to fires. read more

Climate | Energy

Mobile air conditioning in cars, buses and railway vehicles

An EU directive has banned the use of fluorinated refrigerants with a global warming potential of more than 150 in certain mobile air conditioning systems since Jan. 2011. It requires the previously used refrigerant tetrafluoroethane (R134a) to be replaced. Natural refrigerants are considered the best environmental alternative. Climate-friendly alternatives are also available for buses and trains. read more

The Umweltbundesamt

For our environment