IEC votes down HC charge-limit increase

April 19, 2019

Proposed standard falls one vote short of approval, preventing charge limit for A3 refrigerants from rising to 500 g from 150 g in commercial refrigeration.

Previous publication about development of the standard and preparation for the vote is here.

In a vote concluded last Friday (April 12), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) rejected a proposal to increase the charge limit for flammable refrigerants to 500 g from 150 g in self-contained commercial refrigeration cabinets.

The vote ended a five-year process that many expected would result in a higher charge limit for flammable refrigerantslike propane under IEC’s 60335-2-89 standard. The effort to raise the limit could be revisited, though it’s fate is unclear at present.

The IEC vote – known as the Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) phase – fell just one vote short of being approved. Out of 35 total votes cast by National Committees, nine (25.7%) voted against; for the proposal to be enacted, the opposing votes could not exceed 25%.

The vote was received as a major setback to many who saw raising the charge limit as a way to boost the market for hydrocarbon refrigerants. “We are very disappointed by the news, especially to lose by such a small margin,” said Danielle Wright, executive director of the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), which had strongly supported the 500-g charge limit. “But the upside to losing by one vote is that it’s an indication that it is a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ the higher charge limit will be passed in the future.”

“The main outcome of a negative vote will be in itself another barrier for the deployment of climate-friendly alternatives to refrigerant gases,” said ECOS (European Environmental Citizens‘ Organisation for Standardization) in a position paper co-signed by several NGOs, including NASRC, and companies (including shecco, publisher of this website) on March 4, 2019.

Three options for hydrocarbons

Last week’s vote does not necessarily herald the end of the road for a higher charge limit for hydrocarbons.

Zgliczynski outlined three options that could be adopted by the SC 61C committee. One is that the Working Group will continue the standards-making process, first by addressing the comments made in the recent vote.

A second option is that the higher charge limit could be published as a “technical specification” rather than as a standard. “For me, this is not solving the problem,” Zgliczynski said. And finally, the attempt to raise the charge could be cancelled, though even then it could be revived at a later point.

Zgliczynski hopes to get the charge issue on the agenda at the next plenary meeting of the SC 61C, which will take place May 28-29 in Vienna. The meeting was originally scheduled to address safety improvements in household fridges, including better back-panel materials and upgraded capacitors.

If the Working Group resumes addressing the charge issue, it would take “years, not months” to get to another final vote, said Zgliczynski. “It’s very difficult to predict how long the process can take.”