53 Haier-made air conditioners using R290, an environment-friendly refrigerant, were installed in UN Beijing office on June 15, 2016.
Set up in 1979, the UN Beijing office installed a batch of Japan-made air conditioners in 1997, which are now replaced by Haier-made air conditioners, mostly 1HP wall-mounted heating and cooling units, featuring the use of R290, frequency inverter, smart control, and Haier's original self-cleaning technology.
He Peide, director of UNDP's Beijing Office, said, "China's phasing out of HCFC would not secure such remarkable achievements, without supports from industry associations such as CHEAA, and enterprises such as Haier. These environmentally sound products from Haier set a great example for the industry."
Wang Lei, vice president of CHEAA, recognised Haier's efforts in environment protection, and stressed that, "Amid HCFC phase out, China is facing new challenges and pressure posed by the growing use of HFC which generates greenhouse gases in use. For this reason, the environment friendly R290 is expected to play a crucial role in reducing ozone depletion and emissions of greenhouse gases, and promoting the sustainable industry development."
Xiao Xuezhi, deputy director of Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO) under Ministry of Environmental Protection of China and a China representative for several meetings of the executive committee of the multilateral fund of the Montreal Protocol, pointed out that, after careful deliberation, room air conditioner industry, as the biggest HCFC and HFC user among all consumer industries, decides to use natural refrigerant R290 as a major replacement because of its zero ODP and low GWP. According to an estimation made by industry experts, the volume of CO2 emissions a 1.5HP R290 air conditioner reduces is same as the volume of a car with an engine capacity of 1.4L and fuel consumption of 10L/100km travelling for over 6000 km. Considering its performance in environmental protection and innovation, R290 is a better replacement for HFC compared to R410A, and is widely recognized by international community.