Performance assessment of HC-290 as a drop-in substitute to HCFC-22 in a window air conditioner

This paper also presents simulation results for the heat exchangers of an HCFC-22 window air conditioner with HC-290 as a drop-in substitute. The simulation has been carried out using EVAP-COND, a heat exchanger model developed by NIST [National Institute of Standards and Technology. EVAP-COND: simulation models for finned-tube heat exchangers, Maryland, USA (2003). http://www2.bfrl.nist.gov/software/evap-cond/[18]]. The simulated evaporator capacities are within ±4% of the experimentally measured cooling capacities for both refrigerants. Simulation results for HC-290 and HCFC-22 are compared. The exit temperatures of HC-290 are lower by 0.3-1.2 °C in the condenser and are higher by 2.1-2.4 °C in the evaporator than HCFC-22. Evaporating pressures of HC-290 are lower by 2.1-3.3% as compared to HCFC-22. The pressure drops of HC-290 are lower in both the evaporator and the condenser as compared to HCFC-22. The outlet temperatures of air for HCFC-22 and HC-290 in both heat exchangers are nearly the same.