2. Choosing a refrigerant

To choose the right refrigerant for a given application, you need to consider :

• its thermodynamic criteria, since refrigeration systems are governed by the laws of thermodynamics;

• safety criteria: safety of people and property in the event of accidental release of refrigerant into the atmosphere;

• its environmental action criteria: currently very important, since they have forced the abandonment of certain refrigerants;

• its technical criteria: these influence the feasibility and reliability of the refrigeration system and the interactions between the refrigerant and the system components;

• its economic criteria: always present at the heart of technical problems.