Accepted Manuscript

Experimental study on R-22, R-427A, R-161 and R-290 in air-source

heat pump for space heating at low ambient temperatures

Xiaoning Chen , Cichong Liu , Jingye Yang , Jiangping Chen

PII: S0140-7007(18)30317-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2018.08.021
Reference: JIJR 4088

To appear in: International Journal of Refrigeration

Received date: 17 July 2018

Revised date: 27 August 2018
Accepted date: 28 August 2018

Please cite this article as: Xiaoning Chen , Cichong Liu , Jingye Yang , Jiangping Chen , Ex-
perimental study on R-22, R-427A, R-161 and R-290 in air-source heat pump for space
heating at low ambient temperatures, International Journal of Refrigeration (2018), doi:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2018.08.021

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service
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 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

Highlights
 R427A, R161 and R290 were firstly used to substitute R22 in EVI ASHP for heating.

 Performances of four refrigerants were measured in high pressure ratio condition.

 The capacity, COP, discharge temperature, IPLV (h) and LCCP were compared.

 R290 is the most synthetically beneficial alternative.

Experimental study on R-22, R-427A, R-161 and R-290 in air-source

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heat pump for space heating at low ambient temperatures

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Xiaoning Chen 1, Cichong Liu 1, Jingye Yang 1, Jiangping Chen 1, 2

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(1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China; 2 Shanghai High
Efficient Cooling System Research Center)

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Abstract: To help reduce the warming impacts, this study evaluates the drop-in performances of
R-427A, R-161 and R-290 in R-22 air source heat pump with EVI (Economized Vapor Injection).
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The results show that the IPLV(H) of R-161 and R-290 arises 5~8% relative to R-22 with EVI on.
A reversal occurs between R-290 and the baseline with EVI on, making the IPLV(H) of R-290
superior to that of R-22 by 3.6~5.2% from worse performance with EVI off. At -20/41°C
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condition, the capacity and COP of R-290 increase by 38% and 19%, respectively. Considering
COP and discharge temperatures, R-290 is better-performed to replace R-22 in high pressure ratio
conditions. Based on LCCP (Life Cycle Climate Performance) model, 11% of the equivalent CO2
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emission can be reduced by using R-161 and R-290. However, the discharge temperature of R-161
is high in the high pressure ratio condition. R-290 is the most synthetically beneficial alternative.
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Keywords: R-427A; R-161; R-290; economized vapor injection; air source heat pump

Nomenclature
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α recovery rate of end-of-life(%) HFC hydrofluorocarbon

β annual leakage rate (%) HFO hydrofluoroolefin

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cp specific heat of water HC hydrocarbon

C charge volume (kg) IE indirect emission

COP coefficient of performance (kW/kW) IPLV integrated part load value (kW/kW)

DE direct emission LCCP life cycle climate performance

e electricity emission factor LFL lower flammable limit

E embedded energy m mass flow rate of the water

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Eann annual power consumption mref mass flow rate of the refrigerant

EVI economized Vapor Injection N years of lifetime

EQ.CO2 equivalent CO2 emission Qh heating capacity

F fugitive emission Tout outlet water temperature

GWP global warming potential Tin inlet water temperature

GHG greenhouse gas W power consumption

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HCFC hydrochlorofluorocarbon

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1. Introduction

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The air source heat pump (ASHP), as a renewable energy source utilization technique, is being
widely applied to help solve the scattered heating problems in China, especially playing an

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important role in the implementation of national coal to electricity policy in the north area. Not only
is settled the pollution from small decentralized boilers with low efficiency, but also the pressure of
lacking heat source is eased to a great extent. Viewed from the present application situation, the
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proportion of R-22 in ASHP systems is still high in the space heating field. With the accelerated
phase-out of HCFCs based on Montreal Protocol, however, R-22 must be eliminated due to the
depletion to the ozone layer. Therefore, a series of experimental, simulation and prediction studies
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have estimated the substitution performance of HFC, HFO and HC refrigerants.

In early times, the application of R-134a, R-407C (R-32/R-125/R-134a, 23/25/52) and R-410A
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(R-32/R-125, 50/50) are coming into maturing (Lei et al., 2015). In recent years, new HFC
refrigerants emerge to be attempted to achieve substituting in ASHP system. Devecioğlu and OruÇ
(2017) indicated R-453A (R-125a/R-32/R-134a/R-227ea/R-600/R-601a, 20/20/53.8/5/0.6/0.6) and
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R-442A (R-125/R-32/R-134a/R-227ea/R-152a, 31/31/30/5/3) could be directly used in

refrigeration systems. The COP of R-22 was higher compared to R-417A (R-125/R-134a/R-600,
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46.6/60/3.4) and R-424A (R-125/R-134a/R-600/R-600a/R-601a, 50.5/47/1/0.9/0.6) by the

percentage amounts of 17-23% and 4-18% (OruÇ and Devecioğlu, 2015). These refrigerants are
still considered transitional alternatives due to their high GWP, which may result in a great direct
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warming impact.
The research on HFO with a very low GWP is paid more and more attention to. Liu et al. (2016)
compared the condensation heat transfer and pressure drop of R-1234ze(E) with a GWP of 4 and
R-22 in minichannels. They concluded that the heat transfer coefficients and pressure drop for
R-1234ze(E) were larger than those for R-22. Nawaz et al. (2017a) compared R-1234yf,
R-1234ze(E) and R-134a with a simulation model in the water heater system. Both of them had a
lower discharge temperature, comparable first hour rating and slightly lower performance to those
of R-134a.

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Multiple studies have focused on the application of HCs to replace the conventional
refrigerants. Choudhari et al. (2017) simulated the heating cycle of R-290 and R-22 in low pressure
ratio and discharge temperature condition. The volumetric heating capacity of R-290 showed lower
values by about 15% compared with R-22, and the smaller density decreased the charge mass by
43%, making for direct emission reduction. Nawaz et al. (2017b) conducted a simulation study on
the unified energy factor and first hour rating of R-134a, R-290 and R-600a refrigerants in ASHP
water heaters. The results illustrated that R-290 had better prospects as a drop-in replacement for
R-134a because of the shortest heat pump runtime compared with the baseline R-134a system.
Botticella et al. (2015) evaluated the performance of R-290 and R-1234yf in the field test of heat

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pump. They found that R-290 had a better SCOP than R-1234yf by 13.5% under minimum

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temperature condition at 10 °C. Not only were the heat transfer system performances investigated
(Wu et al., 2016; Jin et al., 2017) but also the specific expansion devices (Liu et al., 2018), the

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refrigerant distribution and leaking characteristics (Tang et al., 2017) and the explosion
characteristics (Zhang et al., 2016) were discussed.

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Otherwise, several points still need experimental verifications and supplements. Firstly, due to
the diversity of heating terminal equipment, the outlet water temperature requirement is diverse: 35
~ 41 °C water for the floor heating and fan coil heating applications, 45 ~ 60 °C water for radiator
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heating. In view of the application region, it is also important how a refrigerant behaves in the
freezing climate. So a wider range of outlet water temperatures and ambient temperatures is
necessary. Secondly, in order to solve the problems of the low heating capacity, efficiency and high
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discharge temperature in the low ambient temperature, EVI technique emerges with a widespread
concern (Xu et al., 2011). It is also worth researching that how much is the performance
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improvement of different refrigerants system caused by the changes of flow rate and enthalpy
difference.
The present study focused on the system heating performance of the air source heat pump with
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R-427A, R-161 and R-290, substituting R-22 by method of drop-in. The experiment was carried out
at various ambient temperatures and outlet water temperatures under the optimal charge mass. The
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advantages of vapor injection technique were analyzed in different refrigerants. Moreover, the
feasibility of substitutions was investigated. Also LCCP was calculated to discuss the warming
impact of different alternatives.
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2. Test system and method

2.1. Properties analysis of refrigerants

In terms of the convenience and economy, a drop-in substitution is usually more desired, so
that R-427A, R-161, R-290 are compared to R-22. Table 1 shows the significant properties of these
refrigerants.
R-427A, a kind of the HFC transitional alternatives, is a zeotropic refrigerant consisted of
R-32/R-125/R-134a/R-143a with the mass percentage ratio of 15/25/50/10, respectively. The
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toxicity and flammability grade is A1. The ODP is 0, while the GWP is slightly higher than R-22.
The theoretical and experimental studies are few. Wang (2011) has studied the system performance
in the regular heat pump water heater with R-427A, results of which show that the heating capacity,
COP and discharge temperature are 9~10%, 3~4% and 5~8 °C lower than those of R-22 system,
respectively. However, low ambient temperature conditions and complex cycles have not been
carried out because of the limitation of the ordinary structure. R-161 (fluoroethan) has excellent
thermophysical and environmental-friendly properties. The GWP is comparable to R-290. It is often
added to the other refrigerants, including R-32, R-1234ze(E) et al (Han et al., 2007; Hu et al., 2017).
R-290 (propane) is a natural refrigerant with the GWP less than 3. It is noted that the safety level of

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R-161 and R-290 is A3, the issue of which is received much concern (Li, 2014; Li et al., 2015).

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However, for the space heating application, the unit is located outdoors, and only the second water
loop enters the house, which may relieve the obstacle of the charge volume. In the aspect of thermal

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properties, the volumetric capacity and saturation pressure of R-161 and R-290 are comparative, but
lower than R-22.

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Table 1. Properties of R-22 and alternative refrigerants.
R-22 R-427A R-161 R-290
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Formula CHClF2 mixture CH3CH2F CH3CH2CH3
Molecular mass (g/mol) 86 90 48 44
Boiling Point (°C) -40.8 -42.7 -37.1 -42.2
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ODP 0.045 0 0 0
GWP100 (IPCC 2013) 1760 2138 4 3
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a
Safety classification A1 A1 A3 A3
LFL (%) - - 3.8 2.1
Lubricating oil MO MO/POE MO/POE MO
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Critical temperature (°C) b 96.2 86.8 102.2 96.7

b
Critical pressure (MPa) 4.75 4.33 4.70 4.24
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Saturation pressure at 41/55 °C (MPa) 1.57/2.18 1.53/2.17 1.40/1.95 1.40/1.9072

Saturation pressure at 7/-12 °C (MPa) 0.62/0.33 0.68/0.36 0.55/0.29 0.58/0.32
Heat of vaporization at 7/-12 °C (kJ/kg) 199/214 - 364/389 365/391
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Vapor density at 7/-12 °C (kg/m ) 26.35/14.31 29.19/13.15 12.93/7.00 12.67/7.16
Volumetric capacity at 7/-12 °C (kJ/m3) 5251/3066 - 4701/2721 4622/2799
a
ANSI/ASHRAE standard 34-2013 (A, nontoxic; 1, nonflammable; 3, flammable)
b
REFPROP 9.1 (Lemmon et al, 2013)

2.2. Experimental facilities

The ambient temperature usually plays a critical role in the heating capacity and efficiency of
ASHP. They both decrease with the airside temperature falling down (Hewitt et al., 2008). In order

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to improve the performance in the freezing climate, EVI technique is utilized to reduce the
compressor discharge temperature, and to raise the fluid mass and enthalpy difference (Hewitt et al.,
2011).
As is shown in Figure 1, a test bench of an ASHP hot water heating system with EVI loop was
set up. The scroll compressor used in this study was in conjunction with the EVI technique, the
discharge volume and fixed speed of which was 70 cc and 2900 rpm. The detailed specifications of
the condenser, evaporator and economizer are listed in Table 2. The throttling component in the EVI
loop was an EXV to control the injection superheat, pressure and fluid mass to gain an optimal
system performance. The whole bench was located in an environment chamber which controlled the

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air-side temperature to the fin-tube heat exchanger. The various water-side temperatures and a

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constant flow rate of the shell-tube heat exchanger were provided by a thermostatic water supplier.
Two mass flow meters were used to test different flow rates. One was set in the outlet of the

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economizer main loop to test the total flow rate through the condenser. The other was in the inlet of
the injection EXV to test the injection flow rate. The uncertainties of sensors and calculated
parameters are shown in Table 3.

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Figure 2 displays the P-H diagram of EVI cycle in this study. The system cycle can be divided
into two parts, the main circuit (1-2-7-3-4-1) and the injection circuit (6-2-7-3-5-6). In the heating
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mode with EVI on, part of the refrigerant flows back into the economizer (5-6) with the injection
EXV opening, forming a countercurrent with the main loop (7-3). And then this part of refrigerant is
injected into the compressor injection port (6) to mix with the other part through the suction port
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(1-2’). So that the flow rate is effectively increased and the discharge temperature can be lower. At
the same time, a higher enthalpy difference (4-1) occurs, which is induced by the higher sub-cooling
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(7-3).

Heating mode
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P T Economizer

3
EXV T G
1-way
valve
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5
Shell-tube heat exchanger

EXV P T P
P
4 7
T T
Filter
P T Filter
Fin-tube heat exchanger
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P T P T
T

1 2
T Compressor
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Separator
4-way valve

Figure 1. Scheme of the test rig.

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Figure 2. EVI P-H diagram of test bench.

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Table 2. Specifications of heat exchangers.

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Condenser (shell-tube heat exchanger) Heat transfer area (m2) 0.9
Evaporator(Fin-tube heat exchanger) Tube length (mm) × diameter (mm) 890× 7
Tubes per bank 46

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Tube horizontal /vertical spacing (mm)
3
25/21.7
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Fin per inch 12
2
Internal heat exchanger (brazed plate) Heat transfer area (m ) 0.2
Number of plates 12
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Table 3. Uncertainties of sensors and calculated parameters.

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Sensors and calculated parameters Full scale Uncertainty

NTC thermal resistance -80 ~ 150 °C ±0.1 °C
PT1000 thermal resistance 4 ~ 95 °C ±0.325%
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Pressure transducer 0 ~ 7 MPa ±0.25%

Pressure transducer 0 ~ 2.5 MPa ±0.25%
0 ~ 5 m3/h
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Water volumetric flow meter ±0.5%

Mass flow meter 0 ~ 143 g/s ±0.15%
Power meter 0 ~ 17.6 kW ±0.5%
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Heating capacity Calculated 1.99%

COP Calculated 2.57%

2.3. Test condition and procedures

Four refrigerants (R-22, R-427A, R-161 and R-290) were charged into the same test system
hereinbefore, and the record points of the temperature, pressure and flow rate were marked to ensure
each state of the cycles in Figure 1. The test conditions are shown in Table 4, aiming to obtain the
steady heating performances at different air-side and water- side temperatures. The control method
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of this test was to control the same suction and injection superheat at 5 °C by the EXVs in the main
and EVI loop, respectively.
Before the series of drop-in tests for each refrigerant, the optimal charge volume should be
determined to ensure that the test data were acquired under a good system capacity. With the charge
mass increasing, the system heating capacity rose to smooth, while the COP presented a trend of rise
first then fall. The test was performed under the rated condition (inlet air 7/6 °C, outlet water 45 °C).
The drop-in charge mass of R-427A, R-161 and R-290 were 3.1 kg, 2 kg, 1.8 kg, showing the
decrease of 22.5%, 50% ,55% to the R-22 baseline(4 kg), which might make for reducing direct
equivalent carbon dioxide emission.

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Table 4. Test condition.
Test Air side Water side Operation

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DB WB Outlet temperature
Rated heating condition 7 °C 6 °C 41, 45, 55 °C Steady heating
Extended 1
Extended 2
Low temperature condition
0 °C
-6 °C
-12 °C
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-2 °C
-8 °C
-14 °C
41, 45, 55 °C
41, 45, 55 °C
41, 45, 55 °C
Steady heating
Steady heating
Steady heating
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Extreme cold condition -20 °C - 41, 45, 55 °C Steady heating

2.4. Performance evaluation criteria

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2.4.1. Coefficient of performance

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The value of COP is the ratio of the heating capacity to the energy consumed by the
compressor and fans, which can directly evaluate the system efficiency. The COP is calculated by

Qh c p m (Tout  Tin ) m ref (h2  h7 )

Equation (1). COP   
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W W W
(1)
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where

Qh, W, cp, m, mref represent the heating capacity, power, specific heat, mass flow rate of water and
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the mass flow rate of the refrigerant, respectively. Tout and Tin means the temperature of outlet and
inlet water. h2 and h7 are the inlet and outlet enthalpy of the condenser.

2.4.2. Integrated part load value of heating

The heating capacity and efficiency of heat pump are closely associated with the load demand

that varies with the ambient temperature. At most time the unit may be running at the load rate of

75% or 50%. Taking this practical situation into consideration, AHRI and ASHRAE (Standard

90.1-2010) put forward the concept of integrated part load value (IPLV) to assess the heating
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efficiency level of the heat pump under different load requirements. The IPLV(H) is calculated by

Equation (2).

IPLV(H)=8.3%A1+40.3%B1+38.6%C1+12.9%D1 (2)

where

A1, B1, C1 and D1 are the COP under the heating load rate of 100%(-12/-14), 75%(-6/-8),

50%(0/-2), 25%(7/6), respectively. The proportionality coefficients are typical of Beijing in China.

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2.4.3. Life cycle climate performance

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Although GWP is a useful metric for comparing the potential climate impact of the emissions

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of different GHGs, it is still a partial index. The equivalent carbon dioxide calculation model
includes the direct impacts of refrigerant emissions, the indirect impacts of energy consumption
used to operate the heat pump system, and the energy to manufacture and safely dispose the system
and refrigerant.
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Direct emission (DE) of refrigerant is the direct diffusion to the atmosphere, and its calculation
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is as follows:

DEref  GWPref  C  1       N  (3)

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where

ref is short for refrigerant; α, β is the refrigerant recovery rate of end-of-life and annual leakage rate
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(%); C is the Charge volume of refrigerant (kg); N represents the years of lifetime.

Indirect emission (IE) of refrigerant consists of embedded energy and fugitive emission.
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Embedded energy (E) is the CO2 emissions due to the energy needs in production per unit mass of
refrigerant. Fugitive emission (F) is not easy to collect, which is CO2 emissions due to the
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by-product of unit mass of refrigerant in production. Their value both depend on refrigerant.
Indirect emission of refrigerant is as follows:

IEref  E  F   C  1       N 
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(4)

Energy consumption always played a key role and accounted for a majority. This part is
important for energy saving. As a part of indirect emission, its calculation is as follows:

IEeng  N  Eann  e
(5)

where

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eng is short for energy consumption; Eann means annual power consumption of the unit (kWh/a); e is
the electricity emission factor (kg CO2/kWh). Table 5 shows the coefficients of different
refrigerants for the calculation of the total emission.

Thus,

Eq.CO2  DEref  IEref  IEeng

(6)

Table 5 Coefficients of different refrigerants.

Refrigerant C (kg) E+F (kg CO2/kg Refrigerant) a e (kg CO2/kWh) b

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R-22 4.0 390 0.7995

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R-427A 3.1 13 0.7995
R-161 2.0 13 0.7995
R-290 1.8 0.5 0.7995

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a
Little A. D., 1999.
b
National Development and Reform Commission, 2015.

3. Results and discussion

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This test was carried out on the bench system charged with R-22, R-427A, R-161 and R-290,
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respectively. Firstly, the function of the EVI technique in this system was discussed with four
refrigerants. IPLV(H) illustrated the integrated performance in the various ambient conditions, and
the heating capacity, COP and discharge temperature were analyzed in the extreme low temperature
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condition. Secondly, performances of different refrigerants were compared in different high

pressure ratio conditions. Finally, warming impacts of different refrigerants were calculated based
on LCCP model.
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3.1. Impact of EVI technique on system performance with different refrigerants

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Equation (2) is used to calculate the IPLV (H) for alternative refrigerants under four different
conditions, and the value mainly illustrates the integrated efficiency in various conditions. The
result in Table 6 concludes the coupling of the outlet water temperature at 41/55 °C and EVI on/off.
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The IPLV(H) values of R-22, R-427A, R-161 and R-290 can be improved by 2.66~5.42%,
10~13.29%, 7.55~13.04% and 10.67~13.57%, respectively.
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When the vapor injection valve is closed, the IPLV (H) values of R-427A and R-290 are
16.4%, 15% and 4.7%, 2.5% lower than that of R-22, respectively. Instead, R-161 shows an
equivalent level with R-22. And the IPLV (H) of R-161 and R-290 could arise 5~8% relative to
R-22.
It is noted that, however, a reversal occurs on the IPLV (H) of R-290 with EVI on, and the
integrated efficiency of R-290 can exceed R-22 by 3.6, 5.2% with the action of EVI in the same
system. At this time, the main function of EVI is to raise the efficiency of R-290 system by 7-8
percentage points in particular. According to the test data, the reversal IPLV(H) of R-290 and R-22
mainly results from the higher improvement of the heating capacity. For instance, under the ambient
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condition at -12 °C with EVI on, the heating capacity grows up due to the increasing total mass
flow. The injection ratio is defined as the ratio of the injection mass flow rate to the total mass flow
rate. And the injection ratio of R-290 is 3% higher than that of R-22, which means the EVI function
for R-290 is greater than R-22. Under a specific injection pressure, the injection ratio is related to
the enthalpy difference of the economizer in main and EVI loops, which is determined by the
physical properties.

Table 6. IPLV(H) comparison of R-427A, R-161 and R-290 substitution.

41-EVI on 41-EVI off On/Off (%) 55-EVI on 55-EVI off On/Off (%)

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R-22 2.70 2.63 102.66 2.14 2.03 105.42

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R-427A 2.42 2.20 110.00 1.96 1.73 113.29
/R-22 (%) 89.72 83.66 91.16 85.05

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R-161 2.85 2.65 107.55 2.34 2.07 113.04
/R-22 (%) 105.58 100.65 108.93 101.89
R-290
/R-22 (%)
2.80
103.62
2.53
96.14
110.67
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105.18
1.99
97.50
*41 and 55 means the supply water temperature; EVI on/off means vapor injection is
113.57
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opened or closed.

The performances at the extreme low ambient temperature are shown in Figure 3a-c. The EVI
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technique has great effects on the heating capacity, COP and discharge temperature under the
condition of Tout = 41 °C and -12 °C, -20 °C ambient temperatures. When EVI is on at -20 °C, the
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flow rate increases significantly, resulting in the rise of 20%, 32%, 31%, 38% in the heating
capacity , 8%, 18%, 19%, 20% in COP and a drop of 18 °C, 10 °C, 12 °C, 11 °C in discharge
temperature of R-22, R-427A, R-161, R-290, respectively. At -12 °C, the heating capacity of R-22,
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R-427A, R-161, and R-290 increases by 20%, 27%, 20% and 30%, and the COP arises by 6%, 14%,
12% and 17%, respectively. The discharge temperature decreases by 9 °C, 7 °C, 5 °C and 7 °C.
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Therefore, the opening of EVI improves the system performance and safe operating to a great
degree and the function to R-290 is the most outstanding.
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12
11 -20-EVI off -20-EVI off
-20-EVI on 3 -20-EVI on
10
-12-EVI off -12-EVI off
9 -12-EVI on -12-EVI on
Heating Capacity (kW)

8
7 2

COP
6
5
4
1
3
2
1
0 0
R-22 R-427A R-161 R-290 R-22 R-427A R-161 R-290
Refrigerants Refrigerants

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(a) (b)

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140
130 -20-EVI off

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120 -20-EVI on
110
-12-EVI off
-12-EVI on
Discharge Temperature (oC)

100
90
80

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70
60
50
40
30
20
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10
0
R-22 R-427A R-161 R-290
Refrigerants

(c)
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Figure 3. System performance for different refrigerants when EVI is on and off. (a)
Heating capacity; (b) COP; (c) Discharge temperature.
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3.2. EVI system performance analysis with different refrigerants

The superiority of EVI has been identified, so the performances of alternative refrigerants need
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more comparisons. Figure 4a-d present the relationships between the heating capacity, COP,
discharge temperature, evaporating, condensing pressures and various ambient temperatures for
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different fluids under the circumstances of Tout =55 °C and EVI on. As the outdoor chamber
temperature falls down, Qh and COP both decrease and the discharge temperature rises. Compared
to the R-22 baseline, R-427A, R-161 and R-290 have superiority in low ambient temperature
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conditions, presenting a slower decreasing tendency. The heating capacities of R-427A, R-161 and
R-290 are less than that of R-22 by 14%, 8% and 10% at 7 °C, while 6%, 5.5% and 2% at -12 °C.
The COP has a similar trend: R-427A keeps less than R-22 by 12%, 5% at 7 °C and -12 °C,
respectively; R-161 shows an increase by 5.7%, 6.5%; and R-290 rises by 2%, 8%. As for the
discharge temperature which has great influence on the system safety control and the compressor
lifetime, that of R-427A, R-161 and R-290 is lower than R-22 at -12 °C by about 20 °C, 5 °C and 30
°C, respectively, which means they are all proper to drop in. From the point of the operating
pressure, the condensing pressure is 200-400kPa higher than the others, leading to the relationship

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of the pressure ratio at -12 °C: R-427A＞R-22＞R-161＞R-290, which may be responsible for the
COP tendency. In addition, at -20 °C, the discharge temperature of R-22 system has already exceed
the safety limitation, and the R-161 is also under red alert. In consequence, the R-290 replacement is
synthetically optimum in favor of the COP, stable and safe running at low ambient temperatures.

16 3.5

15
R-22 R-22
14 R-427A 3.0 R-427A
R-161 R-161
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Heating Capacity (kW)

R-290 R-290

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12 2.5

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COP

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10 2.0

8 1.5

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6 1.0
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10

Ambient Temperature (oC) Ambient Temperature (oC)

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(a)
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2400
(b)
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120
2200
2000
Discharge Temperature (oC)

110
1800
100 R-22, Evaporating Pressure
Pressure (kPa)

1600 R-22, Condensing Pressure

90 1400 R-427A, Evaporating Pressure
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1200 R-427A, Condensing Pressure

80
R-161, Evaporating Pressure
1000
R-161, Condensing Pressure
R-22 800 R-290, Evaporating Pressure
70 R-427A
600 R-290, Condensing Pressure
R-161
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60 R-290 400
200
50
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10

Ambient Temperature (oC) Ambient Temperature (oC)

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(c) (d)
Figure 4. Relationship between system parameters and ambient temperature for different
refrigerants. (a) Heating capacity; (b) COP; (c) Discharge Temperature; (d) Evaporating
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and condensing pressure.

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Figure 5a-c illustrate the system parameter variations with Tout of different fluids under the
condition of EVI on at -12 °C. With the Tout increasing, the heating capacity and evaporating
pressure almost have no change, while the drop of COP and the growth of the compressor discharge
temperature and pressure are remarkable. Compared to the condition of Tout = 41 °C, at Tout = 55 °C,
the COP of R-22, R-427A, R-161 and R-290 falls by 21%、16%、17.5% and 18%, while the
discharge temperatures increase by29 °C, 16 °C, 26 °C and 14 °C, respectively. Hence, the smallest
rise of the discharge temperature explains that the application of R-290 is beneficial for the output of
higher Tout under the control of safe scales.

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9.0 2.5

Heating Capacity (kW)

COP
8.5 2.0

R-22
R-22
R-427A
R-427A
R-161
R-161
R-290
R-290
8.0 1.5
40 45 50 55 60 40 45 50 55 60

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Outlet Water Temperature (oC) Outlet Water Temperature (oC)

(a) (b)

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120

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Discharge Temperature (oC)

100

90

80

70
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R-427A
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R-161
60 R-290

40 45 50 55 60

Outlet Water Temperature (oC)

(c)
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Figure 5. Relationship between system parameters and outlet water temperatures for
different refrigerants. (a) Heating capacity; (b) COP; (c) Discharge temperature.
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3.3. Warming impact evaluation

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Based on the LCCP model and weather conditions, the calculation results of equivalent CO2
and its composition ratio of ASHP with EVI technique for space heating in Beijing are shown in
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Table 7. With the recovery rate of 85% (Choi, S., 2017), the lifetime of 10 years and the annual
leakage rate of 2%, IEeng of R-22, R-427A accounts for 94%, 96% of the total, while that of R-161
and R-290 is basically entire. The equivalent CO2 emissions of R-161 and R-290 system are
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comparable, both less than that of R-22 and R-427A system by about 11% and 20%, respectively.
To get rid of the emission caused by refrigerant, there is still 7%-15% in the potential of GHG
emissions mitigation. These differences result from the cooperative influence of the lower GWP,
charge mass and higher efficiency of R-161 and R-290. Therefore, it is obvious that R-161 and
R-290 have advantages in light of only environmental protection.
Additionally, the direct and indirect emissions of the refrigerants make up a small portion of
the total equivalent emission, and even the values are several orders of magnitude lower than the

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direct impact and the indirect emission of energy consumption. Hence, not only is the property of
the refrigerant itself important, but the running consumption is also worth more studies.

Table 7. Equivalent CO2 emission and composition ratio for different refrigerants.
Eq.CO2 IEeng IEeng/Eq.CO2 IEref IEref/Eq.CO2 DEref DEref/Eq.CO2
(t CO2) (t CO2) (t CO2) (t CO2)
R-22 51.63 48.62 94.170% 0.5460 1.058% 2.4640 4.772%
R-427A 56.52 54.19 95.878% 0.0141 0.025% 2.3197 4.104%
R-161 46.06 46.05 99.974% 0.0091 0.020% 0.0028 0.006%

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R-290 46.91 46.91 99.995% 0.0003 0.001% 0.0019 0.004%

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4. Conclusions

In this study three different type refrigerants (R-427A, R-161 and R-290) have been used as

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drop-in substitutions to replace R-22 in the ASHP system with EVI circuit. The heating
characteristics and system performances in a wide range of conditions are compared, and the
conclusions are drawn as follows:
AN
(1) The EVI circuit can effectively improve the integrated efficiency of R-22, R-427A, R-161 and
R-290 by 5.42%, 13.29%, 13.04% and 13.57% at 55 °C supply temperature. There is a reversal
between R-290 system and the baseline with EVI on, making the IPLV (H) of R-290 superior
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to that of R-22 by 3.6~5.2% from worse performance with EVI off. While in the extreme low
ambient temperature condition, the EVI circuit could induce increases of heating capacity and
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COP of R-22, R-427A, R-161 and R-290 by 20%, 32%, 31%, 38% and 8%, 17%, 18%, 19% at
-20 °C, respectively. The improvement of R-290 is the most significant.
(2) Taken COP and discharge temperature into account, R-290 is also considered as the most
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beneficial refrigerant to replace R-22 in high pressure ratio condition. At the condition of
airside -12 °C, Tout=55 °C and EVI on, the heating capacity of R-427A, R-161 and R-290 is
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less than R-22 by 6%, 5.5%, and 2%, and the COP of R-427A is 5% less than that of R-22,
while R-161 and R-290 shows an increase of 6.5% and 8%. From the view of the discharge
temperature, the discharge temperature of R-427A, R-161 and R-290 is 20 °C, 5 °C, and 30 °C
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lower than the R-22 baseline.

(3) Based on the LCCP calculation results, R-161 and R-290 could reduce the equivalent CO2
emission by 11% thanks to the higher efficiency and the charge reduction. Although the drop
of R-427A charge mass is 22.5%, the efficiency is lower, which accounts for the majority of
the emission.
From all above, considering system efficiency, discharge temperature, the performance of
extreme condition and warming impact, R-290 is the most synthetically beneficial alternative.

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