4. Environmental aspects and energy balance

Most of today's refrigeration machines use refrigerants with a high environmental impact. These are very often HFCs with a GWP (global warming potential) well in excess of 150. In response to this problem, the F-Gas regulation aims to limit (with a gradual phase-out) the use of gases with high GWP, in particular HFCs.

In this context, the choice of ammonia as a refrigerant offers the advantage of using a natural fluid with no impact on the greenhouse effect (its GWP is 0). This makes the NH ₃ /H ₂ O blend an excellent solution for reducing emissions, especially as waste or renewable heat can be used instead of electricity. What's more, the ammonia industry is thriving and widely developed, given the many uses of this natural fluid. Last but not least, ammonia is a fluid with...