Chinese manufacturer is finding acceptance for CO2 valves and for hydrocarbon valves and microchannel heat exchangers, which can cut charge by 50%.
Chinese manufacturer Sanhua is starting to work with a number of North American OEMs on hydrocarbon (R290 and R600a) and CO2 applications of its Green Tech Line of components for those refrigerants.
“We have generally had good acceptance of our solutions,” said Michael Smith, marketing communications director for Sanhua’s Jackson, Miss.-based U.S. headquarters (soon to move to Houston), in January at AHR Expo, where the Green Tech Line was showcased. Many are for R290 and are supermarket-focused. “We are just starting to scratch the surface.”
We are just starting to scratch the surface.”
– Michael Smith, Sanhua
Sanhua’s Green Tech Line, introduced in Europe in 2016 and in North America in 2017, includes (for R290) microchannel heat exchangers, electronic expansion valves, thermostatic expansion valves, four-way reversing valves, piston check valves, ball valves and solenoid valves as well as pressure sensors, sight glasses and filter driers. For CO2, it includes electronic expansion valves, stainless steel ball valves and stainless steel check valves.
Many of the OEMs working with Sanhua are “especially interested in microchannel [heat exchangers] and electronic valve solutions that allow for greater system efficiency and less refrigerant charge,” he said.
Microchannel technology provides greater system efficiency and up to 50% less refrigerant charge, “allowing design engineers to optimize new systems to satisfy current and pending government regulations,” he noted. Additional benefits include less weight, smaller size, and minimum galvanic corrosion and performance degradation over the life of the application.
Electronic valves offer more options for flow control when used with an appropriate controller, he added.
Mar 06, 2018, 17:37
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