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• New A2L and A3 refrigerants offer low global warming potential and low toxicity, which make them attractive to the market.
• As of today, ABB is one of just a few known drive suppliers that declares conformity to IEC/UL 60335-2-40 safety standard for A2L and A3 refrigerants.
• ABB drives can safely control equipment running with A2L and A3 refrigerants, with low risk of ignition. Chiller and heat pump OEMs can now benefit from safety and energy efficiency offered by ABB drives.
To support refrigeration OEMs in their green transition, ABB has successfully tested its key refrigeration drives to assure conformity with safety standards when using the new A2L and A3 refrigerants.
This means that surface temperatures in the specified drives HVACR ACH180 and ACH580, General Purpose ACS580 and Machinery ACS180 have now been examined and found to be within safe limits as described in the standard, and no arcs or sparks are produced during operation in normal conditions. Therefore, according to the IEC/UL 60335-2-40 testing standard, the drives are not considered a potential source of ignition when working near A2L or A3 classified refrigerants.
The IEC/UL 60335-2-40 safety standard covers safety of “Household and similar electrical appliances” including electrical heat pumps, air-conditioners, and dehumidifiers. It involves various safety requirements, including protection against electric shock, fire hazards, and mechanical hazards.
Extra features improve safety and OEMs potential cost reductions
As a further benefit, the ACH and ACS range of products include STO (safe torque off) inputs, reducing the need to use external safety relays in safety critical systems. In addition, multiple other features, both standard and options, can be used to reduce the overall system cost even more.
This is good news for OEMs, their customers and end users, who can confidently use and rely on the ABB drives when working near modern refrigeration equipment. This gives the key benefits of increasing energy efficiency, reducing integration costs, without unnecessary concern about ignition safety, thus enabling the green transition.
Compliance as a priority
Stefano Ghidella, ABB’s global business development manager for refrigeration drives, explains why ABB went through the conformity process. “Drives play a critical role in ensuring safety in machinery operating with A2L and A3 refrigerants. And the A2L/A3 refrigerants are rapidly gaining market share thanks to their low greenhouse gas intensity and lower toxicity compared to other materials. That’s why we made this conformity a priority. Now OEMs don’t need to worry about their drives as a potential ignition source or safety hazard.”
As of today, ABB is one of just a few known drive suppliers that declares conformity to IEC/UL 60335-2-40 safety standard for A2L and A3 refrigerants, which gives advantages for both ABB and its customers.
With this Declaration of Conformity, machine builders and their customers working with commercial and residential buildings, data centers, supermarkets, food manufacturing, and many other sectors can be assured that their heating or cooling/refrigeration systems are meeting the highest standards, safely.
More details can be found in these Declaration of Conformity documents:
A3 ACH180/ACS180 ABB Library - 3AXD100002137757
A3 ACH580/ACS580/ACQ580 ABB Library - 3AXD10002137760
A2L ACH180 ABB Library - 3AXD10002047577
A2L ACH580/ACS580/ACQ580 ABB Library - 3AXD10002047587
A2L ACS180 ABB Library - 3AXD10002158560
ABB Motion (abb.com), a global leader in motors and drives, is at the core of accelerating a more productive and sustainable future. We innovate and push the boundaries of technology to contribute to energy efficient, decarbonizing, and circular solutions for customers, industries and societies. With our digitally enabled drives, motors and services we support our customers and partners to achieve better performance, safety and reliability. We deliver motor driven solutions for a wide range of applications in all industrial segments. Building on over 140 years of domain expertise in electric powertrains, our more than 22,000 employees across 100 countries learn and improve every day.
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