Annex 20 - Working Fluid Safety

 

Introduction
The need to find alternatives to the CFCs and HCFCs used in today's heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment has led to intensified interest in the safety aspects of working fluids. Many of the environmentally acceptable alternatives are toxic or flammable (or both).

Annex 20 carried out an international study (entitled Working Fluid Safety) in five countries. This objective and scientific study provided a valuable insight into the risks associated with using refrigerants. The results play an important role in determining the choice of working fluid for tomorrow's equipment, and in the precautions needed to achieve an acceptable risk.

• Start date: April 1991
• End date: October 1993

 

Project manager and participating countries
The project manager (the so-called Operating Agent) was the "Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Instituut Mechanica", on behalf of Belgium.
The following countries participated in this project: Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland.

 

Publications
The project resulted in the following publication:

The reduced price will be charged for countries participating in the project and Heat Pump Programme member countries. Click here for a list of the HPP member countries ›››.

• Working Fluid Safety
  Order No. HPP-AN20-1; 162 pages; Published October 1994. Full price € 150 and reduced price € 50.
  This final report of this project examines the potential hazards of using natural refrigerants such as propane and ammonia, as well as synthetic substances such as HFCs.
  [Order the publication]
  

 

Last updated: 1 March 2004

The world's leading information centre on heat pumps