I had a look at this site Refrigerants Compared for HVAC. Propane (R-290) is obviously listed along with others than are used/could be used for heat pumps. In spite of a degree in Chemistry I'd need to go back to Uni to make any kind of reasoned judgement as to what the refrigerant technology will be in say 5-10 years time or what should be used for heat pumps right now. Interesting to see CO2 listed (R-744) but note that the use of CO2 as a refrigerant would require higher pressures. Methane (Natural Gas) is similar to Propane in its propensity to blow up a home (as we have seen in the news recently) although Propane is considered to be a 'medium reactivity' fuel where Methane is a 'low reactivity' fuel according to NAFI . As to how dangerous Propane would be if utilised on a large scale as a refrigerant (v Methane as the burned source) I shall pass over on this one. Different refrigerants used in heat pumps for the future will almost certainly need to have a lower GWP (Global Warming Potential) if they are to be widely accepted by the masses and the green lobby. Perhaps the 'goldilocks of refrigerants' will emerge in this decade. Who knows?
I had assumed that with large numbers of heat pumps installed elsewhere in the world that the technology was fairly mature and not susceptible of to great improvement. It seems I was entirely wrong on that. But every reason to hold off getting a heat pump now, as more efficient pumps are being developed.
Current Eon Next customer, ex EDF, Zog and Symbio. Don't think dual fuel saves money and think the smart meter programme is a waste of our money. Chronologically Gifted. If I offend let me know by private message, but I’ll continue to express my opinions nonetheless.
@meldrewreborn
You would think that wouldn't you! I suppose it's like most technology someone somewhere is always going to try and "change" the way things work.
You are right there's no reason to rush. Early days!
R290 refrigerant is propane. Yes, a hydrocarbon fossil fuel gas. The only difference between refrigerant propane and fuel propane is that they add methyl mercaptan to the fuel propane so you can smell when it is leaking.
So, if your heat pump springs a refrigerant leak...
Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player. I DON'T work for or on behalf of EON.Next, but am willing to try and help if I can. Not on mains gas, mobile network or mains drainage. House heated almost entirely by baby dragons.
So you are allowed to let consumers undo the connector screw to change 25kg propane tanks for bar-b-que cooking and caravan heating but a sealed unit containing less than a kg of propane is a fire hazard?
As with every diverse community, there is always a mixture of opinions, knowledge as well as understanding - that’s what makes it such a great place to be! To make sure everyone gets the most out of our Community and feels good doing it, we’ve created some values below on how to be an awesome, positive member. So, take a read and then go for it!
We love having you all here in the Community and really hope you find some great advice and help from our other amazing members. As a community team, our main role here is keeping things ticking over, everyone safe and getting involved in some great conversations! We know many of you will have specific queries about your accounts and we want to keep your personal details safe so please don't post them here.
• Saying thanks goes a long way
• The community is a public website, so be careful
• Be kind, respectful and supportive
• It's a family-friendly community
• If you’re in a specific section or discussion, try to stay on topic
• One post is normally enough
• Be cool, don’t spam
We want to ensure that the community is safe and fair for everyone…
We all work hard to ensure everyone feels respected and supported while using the community, and keep that positive energy flowing. If a member or group is disrupting your experience without a genuine reason, you can report this to the community team quickly and easily by clicking the 3 dots on the post. Don’t worry about a thing, we’ll take it from there. If you get a message from the team about your behaviour, please try to work with us, as all we want to do is make this a positive place for everyone. In order to this, we have to uphold these Community Values and the Community Team has the final say.
The full Community Values can be viewed here
If you agree, please click the 'I agree' checkbox and press the 'Complete Registration' button below. If you would like to cancel the registration, click here to return to the Community homepage.
Although the administrators and moderators of E.ON Next Community will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this site, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and neither the owners of E.ON Next Community, nor vBulletin Solutions Inc. (developers of vBulletin) will be held responsible for the content of any message.
By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar,sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws.
The owners of E.ON Next Community reserve the right to remove, edit, move or close any content item for any reason.
