The Grant Aerona³ air source heat pump range uses R32 refrigerant which is more environmentally friendly compared to refrigerants such as R410a although not as ecofriendly as R290 refrigerant. To help Grant heat pump installers further their understanding of R32 refrigerant, John Morris, one of Grant UK’s Regional Sales Managers, explains what R32 refrigerant is and some of the benefits that it can deliver.
Low carbon heat pumps
Renewable heating products, such as air source heat pumps, are growing in popularity and, demand for renewable technologies will further increase as the Government brings about measures to deliver its Warm Homes Plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Manufacturers are therefore striving to develop their products, incorporating design changes to improve efficiencies and make their renewable heating products as green as possible. This is one of the reasons why R32 refrigerant was first introduced and is being used in many air source heat pumps available on the market today and why new refrigerants, such as R290 refrigerant, are emerging as well.
R32 refrigerant – what is it?
Let us now turn to the make-up of this refrigerant. R32 is a single-component refrigerant which means it has no temperature glide. Refrigerant blends that have two or more components exhibit temperature glide but as R32 only has one molecule in its formation, its saturated liquid and vapor temperatures are the same. By removing the risk for the refrigerant to suffer from glide, the system can recharge and recycle with greater ease. This means that R32 refrigerant not only increases system efficiency (please see below) but less of the refrigerant is needed during operation (compared to refrigerants like R410a), further reducing emissions.
So, in summary, R32 refrigerant is:
- A single-component refrigerant gas
- Has no temperature glide so the system can recharge and recycle with ease
- Has a lower GWP value compared to R410a refrigerant.
F-Gas Regulations compliant
The other driving force behind the use of R32 refrigerant is EU legislation. The 2014 EU Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas (F-Gas) Regulations is legislation designed to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons, with the introduction of a series of targets which are designed to limit the use of gases which have the highest Global Warming Potential (GWP). GWP is a value given to greenhouse gases (including HFC refrigerants) which indicates their greenhouse effect and impact on the atmosphere. R32 refrigerant has a GWP which is considerably lower than other typical heat pump refrigerants, such as R410a, so it complies with the legislative targets currently set by the F-Gas regulations.
It is worth noting that future legislation will further encourage the transition to even more environmentally friendly refrigerants, such as R290 which has an incredibly low GWP of just 3, which will see the increased uptake of R290 heat pumps. Please our other blogs to learn more about R290 refrigerant in air source heat pumps.
The GWP of R32 refrigerant
Remaining on the subject of GWP, R32 refrigerant has a GWP of 675 which is 70% lower than the GWP value of R410a refrigerant. It has a less harmful effect on the atmosphere with lower carbon emissions and, furthermore, R32 refrigerant has zero ozone depleting potential as well.
What are the benefits of R32 refrigerant?
A key benefit that R32 refrigerant can deliver is greatly improved efficiencies, compared to older heat pump models using refrigerants such as R410a. Its ability to enable a heat pump to recharge and recycle more effectively than some other refrigerants means that the heat pump can run at much higher efficiencies. A more efficient heat pump is greener in operation, uses less energy and can help households reduce their energy bills.
To give specific examples of these high efficiencies in practice, we can look at Grant’s Aerona³ R32 heat pump range. The Aerona³ R32 13kW model achieves a SCOP of 5.40 (at 35ºC), a value which indicates that for each kW of electricity used to run the unit, the heat pump will produce over 5 times the amount of heat. A heat pump which has a greater SCOP is producing more heat output for each unit of energy used, resulting in a more efficient heating system.
Discover Grant’s R32 heat pumps
Grant’s range of air-to-water heat pumps includes both R32 heat pumps and R290 heat pumps. The Aerona³ R32 heat pumps are an award-winning range of heat pumps which are:
- Available in heating outputs from 6kW up to 17kW
- MCS certified and eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
- Available with a guarantee of up to 7 years when installed by a G1 Installer.
Please click here to discover more about Grant’s Aerona³ R32 air source heat pumps and watch our video below. If you are interested in free heat pump training on the Aerona³ R32 air source heat pumps, the Grant Aerona³ Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) installer course may also be of interest.
This blog was originally published on 3rd June 2020 and updated on 27th June 2025.