Future risks of stratospheric ozone depletion and the relatively high global warming potential of R22 might eventually lead to further limitations on the use of R22 in heat pump and air conditioning systems. The coefficient of performance (COP) and the seasonal performance factor (SPF) were calculated for binary and ternary substitutes. Improvements in the COP of up to 13.7% over R22 are predicted with binary and ternary mixtures. Significant design changes to the system will be necessary to accommodate mixtures, requiring a considerable research and development effort. Some of the design changes potentially offset the energy savings. On the other hand, the SPF can be improved by modulating the capacity by changing the mixture concentration. Greenhouse warming potential and its ozone depletion potential are reduced considerably compared to R22.

KEYWORDS: refrigerants, R22, domestic, greenhouse effect, coefficient of performance, mixtures, heat pumps, air conditioning, calculating, thermodynamics, heat flow.