Flair 2024 Newsletter
Last year proved to be another difficult year in our industry. Equipment manufacturers had to adapt their product line to meet the new DOE seer requirements for efficiency. The new requirement more closely resembled the true efficiency of an A/C system when installed in a residential application.
This required the manufacturers to re-engineer up to 70% of their equipment line to meet the new standards. The results of these changes resulted in equipment shortages nationwide. As the year came to an end, the equipment issues have for the most part been resolved but we are still seeing shortages and availability of parts. We are doing our best to stay on top of these issues but sometimes we are at the mercy of the manufacturers.
Most manufacturers have decided to start using refrigerant R-454B which has a GWP of 465. Other manufacturers are using R-32. This will mean that now service companies will need to carry a minimum of 3 refrigerants on their truck and more if they also do refrigeration work.
Pollution from wildfires this past year has reduced or in some cases eliminated decades of air quality improvement. After the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970 which reduced pollution from industrial pollutants and tail pipe emissions the air in our country became significantly healthier but increasing pollution from wildfire smoke has reversed or stalled air quality improvements in 41 of 48 states.
In 2016 Melbourne, Australia experienced a mass asthma event following a thunderstorm. Thirty hours after the storm hospitals saw 3,365 more medical visits for breathing problems than would be expected. This was a 672% increase versus the previous three years. Health care systems were overwhelmed resulting in ten deaths. It’s hard to know what happened, but studies of over a dozen documented dramatic thunderstorms related asthma in the past decades shows this event usually happens in Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. The prevailing theory believes that storm winds sweep pollen from plants into the sky where humidity can break it into smaller particles that can easily be inhaled into the lungs. People who are allergic to pollen breathe them in triggering inflammation and tightening of the airways.
This required the manufacturers to re-engineer up to 70% of their equipment line to meet the new standards. The results of these changes resulted in equipment shortages nationwide. As the year came to an end, the equipment issues have for the most part been resolved but we are still seeing shortages and availability of parts. We are doing our best to stay on top of these issues but sometimes we are at the mercy of the manufacturers.
NEW REFRIGERANT
Effective January 2025 manufacturers will no longer be able to manufacture units that used the current refrigerant for A/C use R-410. Per EPA requirement any refrigerant used must have a maximum GWP (Global Warming Potential) of 750. The current refrigerant R410 has a GWP of 2088, well above the new limit.Most manufacturers have decided to start using refrigerant R-454B which has a GWP of 465. Other manufacturers are using R-32. This will mean that now service companies will need to carry a minimum of 3 refrigerants on their truck and more if they also do refrigeration work.
JUNE 2023-HOTTEST ON RECORD GLOBALLY 67.7 DEGREES
The global average temperature was .95 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1991-2000 average beating the previous record in June 2015. Europe experienced an even higher temperature at 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit above average.WILDFIRE SMOKE REDUCES GAINS OF CLEAN AIR
Pollution from wildfires this past year has reduced or in some cases eliminated decades of air quality improvement. After the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970 which reduced pollution from industrial pollutants and tail pipe emissions the air in our country became significantly healthier but increasing pollution from wildfire smoke has reversed or stalled air quality improvements in 41 of 48 states.
ASTHMA AND THUNDERSTORMS
In 2016 Melbourne, Australia experienced a mass asthma event following a thunderstorm. Thirty hours after the storm hospitals saw 3,365 more medical visits for breathing problems than would be expected. This was a 672% increase versus the previous three years. Health care systems were overwhelmed resulting in ten deaths. It’s hard to know what happened, but studies of over a dozen documented dramatic thunderstorms related asthma in the past decades shows this event usually happens in Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. The prevailing theory believes that storm winds sweep pollen from plants into the sky where humidity can break it into smaller particles that can easily be inhaled into the lungs. People who are allergic to pollen breathe them in triggering inflammation and tightening of the airways.
NEW BUILDING DESIGN KEEPS BUILDING COOL WITHOUT A/C
In Conroe, Texas, a suburb of Houston, an architecture company Modo and a climate focused engineering company Transsolar teamed up to design a new building that can keep itself cool without air conditioning. The 14,000 square foot building features concrete walls with deep grooves that move heat away from the building. The walls use a dirt repelling white paint that reflects sunlight to further enhance the cooling ability. Even in triple digit heat they haven’t run the air conditioning, yet inside the building it still feels cool.
INDOOR PLANTS REMOVE CANCER CAUSING TOXIN
A University of Sydney associate professor Fraser Torpy, in partnership with Ambius, a plant scaping company, found that an Ambius green wall which contains a mix of indoor plants effectively removed 97% of harmful cancer-causing pollutants from the surrounding air in just eight hours. The study showed that indoor plants can remove cancer causing toxins such as benzene.
NEW A/C SYSTEMS IN FUTURE MAY NOT USE REFRIGERANT
As the demand for A/C increases worldwide researchers are trying to develop A/C systems that do not use greenhouse refrigerant. They have designed a prototype that uses the electrocaloric effect for cooling. It manifests itself in the fact that a special material heats up when an electric field is applied. Removing the field causes the material to cool down. A prototype electrocaloric cooling unit was developed by scientists at Luxemburg Institute of Science. Their design system consists of a series of tiles made from a ceramic like material that did not break down under repeated cooling and heating cycles. A fluid circulates between the tiles, transferring heat from the cooled chamber to the outside. The results from the test give hope that the electrocaloric effect may be a practical alternative for cooling and heating systems.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve your air conditioning and heating needs. We sincerely appreciate your business.
Sincerely,
Thomas P McGuire
President