The current severe heat wave may become more serious and frequent in the future, which will increase the use of air conditioners. The high energy consumption and refrigerant with high warming potential of air conditioners threaten the environment. A new study found that using propane as a refrigerant can reduce the impact on global temperature rise.

In summer, or in low latitude areas, it takes a lot of energy to resist the heat all year round, which is about one tenth of the total global power supply. If the current temperature trend continues, the energy demand for space coolers will more than triple by 2050. In addition to energy consumption, space coolers also threaten the environment in different ways: through the use of high halogen refrigerants, global warming potential.

Split air conditioners using indoor and outdoor air units connected by pipes (split air conditioners) are very common equipment used for space cooling. They mainly use HCFC-22 and HFC-410 as refrigerants. The global warming potential of these two substances is very high, up to 2256 points, which means that the heat they absorb is carbon dioxide for more than 100 years.

Driven by the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, many manufacturers are looking for alternative refrigerants with low global warming potential, such as HFC-32. However, the global warming potential of HFC-32 is 771, which will still cause significant climate damage.

A study conducted jointly by IIASA researcher Pallav Purohit and researchers from the United Nations Environment Programme and the University of Leeds shows that by using propane (an alternative refrigerant with low (% 3C1) global warming potential) for space cooling, we can avoid a global temperature rise of 0.09 ℃ at the end of this century, thus making a significant contribution to controlling the global temperature rise below 1.5 ℃. (Test article)