The key role of propane in a sustainable cooling sector

Purohit, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7265-6960, Höglund-Isaksson, L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7514-3135, Borgford-Parnell, N., Klimont, Z. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2630-198X, & Smith, C.J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0599-4633 (2022). The key role of propane in a sustainable cooling sector. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119 (34) e2206131119. 10.1073/pnas.2206131119.

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Abstract

Split air conditioners (ACs) are the most used appliance for space cooling worldwide. The phase-down of refrigerants with high global warming potential (GWP) prescribed by the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol has triggered a major effort to find less harmful alternative refrigerants. HFC-32 is currently the most common refrigerant to replace HFC-410A in split ACs. The GWP of HFC-32 is about one-third that of HFC-410A but still considerably higher than that of a growing number of nonfluorinated alternatives like propane with a GWP of <1, which have recently become commercially available for split ACs. Here, we show that a switch to propane as an energy-efficient and commercially available low-GWP alternative in split ACs could avoid 0.09 (0.06 to 0.12) °C increase in global temperature by the end of the century. This is significantly more than the 0.03 (0.02 to 0.05) °C avoided warming from a complete switch to HFC-32 in split ACs.

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