Inhaltsverzeichnis
- Whole-building life-cycle assessment per EN 15978 splits carbon into embodied, product, construction, end-of-life, and operational, use. For HVAC, embodied carbon has two big drivers, refrigerant leakage and equipment manufacturing.
- A system lifetime refrigerant emissions are counted as CO2-equivalent using GWP. A leaky R-410A, GWP 2088, or R-134a, GWP 1430, unit can emit more lifetime carbon than its operational electricity in some climates, whereas R-290, GWP 3 or R-744, GWP 1 make leakage nearly negligible. This is why the F-gas phase-down matters for embodied as well as operational accounting.
- Less conditioning energy means lower operational Scope 2. Smaller, right-sized plant means less material embodied carbon. Durable, serviceable exchangers extend life and cut replacement cycles. Credible HVAC carbon accounting should report both buckets, downplaying embodied refrigerant leakage understates true impact. Pair this with circular-economy recovery at end of life.
Whole-building life-cycle assessment per EN 15978 splits carbon into embodied, product, construction, end-of-life, and operational, use. For HVAC, embodied carbon has two big drivers, refrigerant leakage and equipment manufacturing.
A system lifetime refrigerant emissions are counted as CO2-equivalent using GWP. A leaky R-410A, GWP 2088, or R-134a, GWP 1430, unit can emit more lifetime carbon than its operational electricity in some climates, whereas R-290, GWP 3 1 TP3Te7or R-744, GWP 1 make leakage nearly negligible. This is why the F-gas phase-down matters for embodied as well as operational accounting.
- Less conditioning energy means lower operational Scope 2.
- Smaller, right-sized plant means less material embodied carbon.
- Durable, serviceable exchangers extend life and cut replacement cycles.
Credible HVAC carbon accounting should report both buckets, downplaying embodied refrigerant leakage understates true impact. Pair this with circular-economy recovery at end of life.