The Natural Resources Defense Council says some companies in India are using innovative refrigerant technology to deal with the country’s quickly growing air conditioning needs.
Some companies working to reduce polluting hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants and to find alternatives to the prevalent HFC-410A include:
Daikin is producing air conditioners in India with the refrigerant, HFC-32, reporting sales of 150,000 units in India since introduction in 2013 and 3 million units sold worldwide.
Indian manufacturer Godrej & Boyce is producing air conditioners using another lower-impact alternative, the hydrocarbon HC-290, reporting sales of 100,000 units.
NRDC says refrigerants produced with alternate refrigerants such as HFC-32 and HC-290 can be more energy efficient, especially at high ambient temperatures such as in India.