Is Propane the future of refrigerants Before you turn me off before you say this crazy guy talking about using propane as a refrigerant I'm telling you I used to hear the same thing and I thought what you're thinking right now but in this video I'm going to give you a snapshot of things to come, probably more than any other video I've done. I'm going to make some bold predictions, but I'm also going to open a can of worms. let you know some things that a lot of folks are not aware of. And yes, we're talking about propane.

We're talking about the stuff that you use to light your gas grill on the back deck. I provide the people of this community with propane and propane accessories. So let's dive into this. I've got a few things that if you watch to the end of this video: I think I'm going to open your eyes to a few things.

maybe make you feel a little easier, maybe more at ease about some of this stuff. I know when I first heard it I thought it was nuts I was like what extremely high flammable gas and as we during the making of this video are getting rid of 410A refrigerants, we're starting to introduce some mildly flammable refrigerants to the market to the industry. here in the US and I think as I said, we're going to go through a few things that may actually show you of things to come. So first of all, what am I talking about Propane gas? The most common one is R290 and it's literally a very pure form of Propane.

There's more to it than that, but that's the gist of it. It's it's propane gas. but it doesn't have any of the junk in there. It's very pure and because of that, it can be used as a refrigerant.

And you might say, well, why would you even want to use it as refrigerant? We're going to get into that in a moment, but the reason the industry looks at it as a refrigerant in comparison to some of the other refrigerants that were already using or even starting to introduce. Now, propane has a lot of qualities, or R290 has a lot of qualities that a lot of those refrigerants don't. Some of the refrigerants that we've seen banned in the industry that are harmful to the environment, they actually have ozone depleting qualities. Propane doesn't do any of that.

R290 doesn't do any of that. It also has a very low Gwp rating compared to a lot of these other refrigerants, And that's the big thing going on right now as we go from 410A refrigerant to R32 or R454b, whatever refrigerants that they're switching to, a lot of the concerns revolve around the Gwp ratings, the global warming potential, and propane, it's non-existent I mean I think I've seen some studies where theyve said it's as low as three, some of them saying it's as high as 20, but in comparison to the other ones that we're seeing on the market where we see hundreds if not thousands as a rating for the Gwp, this is minimal. You know it's It's non-existent basically. And so I know what you're thinking.

Let's just go ahead and talk about the big ugly elephant in the room. It is flammable, right? It's It's not just mildly flammable. It's highly flammable. You cook steaks with it on the regular, right? But let me say, set your mind at ease on a couple things.

The first thing is obvious: We've had gas lines. not refrigerant, but gas lines in our homes for years, right? So you've had gas appliances, maybe a water heater. A lot of folks have these instant water heaters today, the tankless ones. We also have seen closed dryers.

We've seen stoves, cook tops, all kinds of appliances that use propane. Now, obviously if they're not used as a refrigerant, the pressures are different and so one. But I Just want to point that out that when a lot of folks immediately go to, oh, it's highly flammable. Well, so is a lot of other things.

You've got to be careful. You've got to do things that are safe here, right? And so because of that, I Think you're going to see some of these inventions that we're already seeing hit the market, become more of a thing with these refrigerants. especially R290. Some of these systems are going to not just have sensors, but they're going to be required to have sensors to sense.

Hey, there's a refrigerant leak. there's propane leak leak. There's problems here and all these sensors to make sure things are okay. And the other thing that we're seeing that we've seen for years overseas we've seen it in other countries is technologies that are now coming to America one of those being heat pump systems that are air to water technology and in other countries this is a big deal.

The systems are super efficient. They can have an outdoor unit that has the refrigerant in there and then you have water lines that go into the house and it can heat your water going into your showers and kitchen sink and everything. but it can also heat a hydro coil that would heat your home full. transparency I Have not laid hands on one of these systems yet, but I do think it opens up all kinds of possibilities.

Maybe there's hydronic technologies that are not being used or they are being used, but in a different fashion. Of course you've got other Technologies such as pool heaters and things like that. There's all kinds of things that I think we could see be done with that sort of technology. I Know Dyan's got their altherma unit and that's a big deal over in.

Europe We're a big Dyan dealer at my company and I would love to see it come to the US but the best thing about all of it is let's just say you were to take that technology and then you were to put R290 in it. All of the refrigerant is outside. You don't have to worry about it leaking into your house, right? It's just the water that's being brought into your house. And so I just think that you're going to see all kinds of ways of doing things to be safe.

And Technologies you know, inventions that will account for some of this stuff. so that as we start to see things be introduced to the market and things that you might have concerns about? Well, they're going to be mindful of that. And the last thing I'll say is two things. Number one, it's super efficient.

So not only is it good for the environment and all that stuff, but it's very efficient. Some of these systems using R290 have an extremely high Coop rating compared to other refrigerants, which basically means it's going to heat and cool your home for a whole lot less money. And the other thing that's great about them is it's already in use. This isn't something Pie in the Sky something they're not already using.

we already see it being used in the United States in certain commercial products and we're starting to see it be introduced more commonly in the residential Market over in Europe And so what's good about that is they get to, you know, be the guinea pigs if you will and they're the ones that are going to be using a lot of these products. I Just saw another brand had just come out with a new R290 product that was introduced in Europe and so I just wanted to get in front of it I Know this video is very premature. there are no products right now that I'm aware of that we're going to be seeing coming out in the very near future. but I do think it's a snapshot of things to come.

I Really think that if you catch this video that it is a way for you to just kind of be ahead of the game and know what's coming and again, it's not. Pie in the Sky it's not science fiction anymore. I Really do think that this is something that we could very well see in the very near future being offered to us here in the states and maybe shouldn't have as much of a problem with it as once thought. Anyway, let me know your thoughts.

do you have any concerns with us? One thing that comes to mind for me is now more than ever, you better have somebody that knows what they're doing, not your brother-in-law who took a six week class over at the community college. I'm saying you better find somebody that knows what they're doing and make sure everything is safe. but I'd love to hear your thoughts comment down below. That said, if you like this video, I think you'll like this one even more.

It's where I talk about five reasons you could have low air flow in your house. Thanks for watching Hit that subscribe button. We'll see you next time.