Haier to insulate with 1233zd(E)

USA: Chinese company Haier is the latest refrigerator manufacturer to adopt the new insulation blowing agent 1233zd(E).

In a deal announced by Honeywell, Haier will use the new gas, marketed by Honeywell as Solstice LBA, in place of cyclopentane in the foam insulation formulated and manufactured by Dow Chemical.

“For the past three years, we have been working with Haier under their Open Innovation System to transition to Solstice LBA, and we congratulate Haier on being at the forefront of introducing refrigerators that are both highly energy efficient and low in environmental impact,” said Sanjeev Rastogi, business director for Honeywell Fluorine Products.

In July, Honeywell announced a similar deal to supply Midea, another major Chinese appliance manufacturer. At the beginning of the year US appliance manufacturer Whirlpool announced that it too would be using the new blowing agent in place of 245fa, with conversion of all its US factories to be completed by the end of 2014.

Solstice LBA has an ultra-low global warming potential of 1, which is 99.9% lower than HFC-245fa, a commonly-used blowing agent.

In refrigerator insulation trials, units made with HFC-245fa were said to be 8-10% more energy efficient than those made with cyclopentane, and units made with Solstice LBA were said to be 2% more energy efficient than those made with HFC-245fa in an unoptimised system. In an optimised system Honeywell expects that Solstice LBA will demonstrate even better energy efficiency performance.

Non flammable and with zero ODP and a GWP of 1, HFO1233zd(e) is also being promoted as a replacement for refrigerant R123 in chiller applications, with US manufacturer Trane being the first to use the new gas.

Further reading

Honeywell’s foam blower off to China – July 8, 2014
CHINA: Honeywell is to supply Chinese manufacturer Midea with its low GWP, HFO-based, insulation foam blowing agent Solstice LBA. Read more…

Trane first with 1233zd chiller –  June 30, 2014
FRANCE: A new non-flammable, low GWP refrigerant HFO1233zd(E) is being used for the first time in a new Trane chiller. Read more…