2024 January Meeting – Refrigerants

January 18, 2024 Chapter Meeting

Refrigerants

New societal environmental demands to control climate change are driving the development of new regulatory policies to restrict and lower the direct GWP (global warming potential) impact of F-gases. The HVAC&R industry is currently being challenged to invest significant resources to understand the best refrigerants that meet the above requirements. However, there are many uncertainties and challenges given the ever-changing global regulatory environment, within regions, country, state, and sometimes locally by city. Today designers are being asked to consider new lower direct GWP unsaturated hydrofluorocarbons (HFOs) refrigerants, some of which are slightly flammable under certain conditions, as well as revisiting the application of natural refrigerants, like carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrocarbons, and water.

This presentation will provide an update on new lower GWP alternatives introduced into the marketplace and it will highlight some important considerations, particularly flammability, that engineers, designers, and building owners should keep in mind regarding next-generation refrigerants.

Speaker Info

Our presenter, Steve Kujak, is the director of Next Generation Refrigerants Research for Trane Technologies. Over the past 30 years, he has been involved in technology development of new refrigerants, absorption chillers and IAQ cleaning technologies. Steve has been an author or co-author on 50+ publications related to refrigerants and has 30+ patents related to HVAC products. Steve is a distinguished member and lecturer for ASHRAE and is involved in numerous refrigerant safety and use standards used globally by the HVACR industry. He is the past chair of ASHRAE Standard 34 “Designation & Safety Classification of Refrigerants” and the vice-chair of the Refrigeration Committee Technology Committee for Comfort, Process, and the Cold Chain (REF-CPCC).

Lunch Meeting (South Bend)

• Professional Cost: $18 (includes lunch)
  Student Cost: Free for student chapter members (sponsored by the chapter)
• Check-in: 11:30AM EDT / 10:30AM CDT
• Lunch/Program: 12:00PM EDT / 11:00AM CDT
• Potawatomi Zoo
  500 S Greenlawn Ave
  South Bend, IN 46615

Lunch Registration

Dinner Meeting (Munster)

• Professional Cost: $20 (includes dinner)
  Student Cost: Free for student chapter members (sponsored by the chapter)
• Check-in: 6:30PM EDT/ 5:30PM CDT
• Dinner/Program: 7:00PM EDT / 6:00PM CDT
• Millies Engineering Group
  9711 Valparaiso Drive, Suite A
  Munster, Indiana 46321

Dinner Registration