ASHRAE, an international organization founded in 1894 aiming at advancing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration, has recently presented a revision to its Standard 34 that should make it easier for manufacturers to prepare applications for refrigerant number assignment and safety classification.

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 34-2007, Designation and Safety Classification of Refrigerants, establishes a simple means of referring to common refrigerants in place of chemical names, formulas or trade names. It also establishes safety classifications based on toxicity and flammability data. The 2007 standard contains a total of 16 new refrigerants. In addition, a new section has been added specifying the criteria to determine recommended refrigerant concentration limits (RCL) in occupied spaces, reveals the organization’s press release. The addition of RCL values will be useful in application of the refrigerants in the field.

“In general, incorporating the 23 approved addenda into one document makes the standard easier to read and understand, making it easier for users to determine the current requirements to get a refrigerant listed in the standard”, said Bill Walter, Standard 34 committee chair.