Honeywell made the announcement at the 2012 International Symposium on New Refrigerants and Environmental Technology held in Kobe, Japan.

HFO-1234ze (Solstice L-41) “offers a 75 percent reduction in GWP compared to R-410A and is intended to replace R-410A in residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pump applications,” the company said. “In addition to its lower GWP, it offers excellent energy efficiency, is cost-effective and can be used in existing equipment designs with minimal changes.”

“Honeywell has been working closely with leading equipment manufacturers to optimize Solstice L-41 to meet the demanding requirements of both stationary air conditioning and heat pump applications across a broad range of operating conditions,” said Tom Morris, director of commercial development for Honeywell Fluorine Products. “Solstice L-41 will allow these manufacturers to offer more environmentally friendly air conditioning and heat pump systems to help address climate change.”

The manufacturer also said HFO-1234ze “offers significant advantages over another alternative, HFC-32,” mainly related to uses in hot climates.

It was noted that Solstice L-41 is based on Honeywell’s HFO-1234ze technology, which was first introduced in 2008 and has since been commercialized for chillers, insulating foam, and aerosol applications. A new HFO-1234ze manufacturing plant is currently under construction to meet the needs of equipment manufacturers, Honeywell said.

For more information, visit www.honeywell-refrigerants.com.

Publication date: 2/25/2013