Europe braced for R32
18th March 2016ITALY: Mostra Convegno, which ended today in Milan, has provided a glimpse of a European future with “mildly flammable” R32 refrigerant.
Seemingly being adopted as the refrigerant of choice in smaller split systems, R32 units were a recurring feature on stands of air conditioning exhibitors at Mostra Convegno.
Already available or soon-to-be-introduced R32 units were featured by a number of companies including Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba, Hitachi, Panasonic, Haier, Midea, Aux, Hisense and, of course, European R32 pioneer Daikin.
Earlier this year the Cooling Post revealed that Mitsubishi Electric was to introduce R32 units in the UK beginning in 2017. This, it said, would include R32 versions of its residential M Series and commercial P Series air conditioning ranges and Ecodan heat pumps. Three units in high-gloss black, white and red finishes were previewed on the Mitsubishi Electric stand at Mostra. Resembling designs currently available in Japan, these MSZ-LN units were the source of great interest.
Toshiba, which has until now been quiet on its plans for the European introduction of R32, used Mostra to launch the Mirai. This wall-mounted single split displays an A + energy label and is low noise at 19dBA. Five sizes are available from 1.5 to 5 kW.
The unit is already available in Eastern Europe and is thought to be poised for launch in France and Italy, at least.
Not to be outdone, but not revealing any plans for European introduction, Hitachi featured two R32 units (RAS-X40F2 and RAS-D40-E2) currently available on the Japanese market.
Panasonic, which announced the European introduction of R32 units earlier this month, highlighted a new Etherea unit using the the new “mildly flammable” refrigerant.
The Chinese manufacturers were also involved in the R32 onslaught. Haier was promoting its Dawn wifi-controlled air conditioner and Hisense was debuting its Silentium unit. Midea was also involved and Aux was hedging its bets by making its Jike unit available in both R32 and R290 versions.
Related Stories:
https://www.coolingpost.com/world-news/r32-takes-centre-stage-at-mostra/
https://www.coolingpost.com/uk-news/mitsubishi-to-launch-r32-in-uk-in-2017/
https://www.coolingpost.com/products/panasonic-launches-r32-air-conditioners/
