The first 100 000 HC-290 split air conditioners in India

• Reports on the first large-scale deployment of R290 air-conditioners.
• Details approach for safe design of units.
• Overview of ensuring lifetime safety through addressing infrastructure.
• Experience to date reveals negligible technical and safety-related faults.

In 2012, Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. launched their first HC-290 split air conditioners, which was the first in India. Since then, more than 100 000 air conditioners have been placed on the market. This article provides an overview of the development process and challenges and provides an analysis of the current situation in terms of safety and reliability. The development of these products involved an iterative process of charge minimisation, performance optimisation and integration of safety features, and the results of these are detailed within the article. Subsequent to the sales of these machines, data were obtained from field technicians as well as end users in order to evaluate the reliability and robustness of the installed systems and associated service activities. The present paper summarises the results of the findings.