HFCs are a serious climate problem in Canada

Combatting climate change

Photo: Ann Dorval.

Heat pumps are growing in popularity in B.C. but could they be part of the problem when it comes to climate change.

Heat pumps, refrigerators and freezers all move heat from one place to another, which is where the term “heat pump” comes from.

In a refrigerator, the heat is moved from inside the fridge to the outside, making the inside colder while the heat is discharged from the heat coils on the outside of the back.

The physics are as follows. When a substance changes from a liquid to a gas (through evaporation or boiling), it absorbs heat (making its environment colder). When it changes from a gas to a liquid (condensation), it gives off heat (making its environment warmer). The change of state is accomplished by spraying the substance, referred to as a refrigerant, causing it to evaporate. The refrigerant is compressed in a different part of the cycle, causing it to condense.

The synthetic compounds industry started to use in the 1930s were chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). In the 1970s, scientists discovered CFCs were broken down in the atmosphere by the ultra-violet wavelengths in sunlight, releasing chlorine atoms that were part of their structure. The chlorine atoms interact with ozone, transforming it into oxygen.

Ozone in the atmosphere protects the living organisms on the Earth including us, from much more intense UV radiation, which is deadly.

Countries came together to ratify a treaty, the Montreal Protocol, in 1987 to phase out CFCs. The new replacement was hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. These did not damage the ozone, which is slowly returning in the atmosphere to its original abundance. However, it was later discovered that HFCs are extreme greenhouse gases. The three main CFCs used are 1,300 to 4,800 times as potent as CO2 in their global warming potential on a scale of 100 years, and more than double that over 20 years.

In response, the Kigali Protocol was created in 2016. It is expected that all countries will ratify it by the fall of 2026.

The problem, as with all climate agreements, is in the implementation. In Canada, our CFC emissions have more than doubled since 2005, the baseline year for our climate targets. In the EU, CFC emissions peaked in 2014 and have since declined as fast as they were increasing.

In the US, they continue to increase but only half as fast as in Canada. In Canada, 70% of our CFC emissions come from leakage in refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and heat pumps. CFCs leak in manufacturing, while in use, while servicing and when scrapped. So many CFCs leak, more is used to top up leaking equipment than to fill new equipment. Another 20% of HFCs are used as foam-blowing agents, while the rest is used in aerosol sprays.

Fortunately there are replacements which are much less damaging. Ironically they are CO2 (GWP of 1, or same Global Warming Potential as CO2), as well as two fossil fuels: refrigerant grade propane (GWP3), called R-290; and refrigerant grade isobutane (GWP 3), called R-600a. Increasingly, car air-conditioners and supermarket refrigerators use CO2, which requires specialized equipment. R-290 is being used in industrial heating and cooling systems and is starting to be used in home heat pumps. R-600a has been used in home refrigerators and freezers for years world-wide.

In 2025, Canada and the US have effectively banned HFCs in refrigerators while the EU banned these ten years earlier, where most refrigerators use R-600a. The reason for the slow transition in Canada has to do with industrial use and industry pushback. To use these new refrigerants requires new equipment and is therefore expensive, since the old equipment lasts a long time, while it continually leaks HFCs. This is another example of Canada and the US slow walking the climate transition.

Unfortunately, many heat pumps in Canada still use an HFC. However much stricter regulations for heat pumps in Canada are coming in 2026. Meanwhile, in 2025, both the EU and the US are imposing GWP limits in heat pumps.

Heat pumps without HFCs are common in those jurisdictions but harder to find in Canada, some of which still have a GWP of 2,087.

In car air conditioners, regulations have required low GWP refrigerants since 2021. Commercial refrigerant systems are the biggest source of HFC emissions. While Canada did bring in limiting regulations in 2020, they are extremely high limits (GWP of 2200). On the other hand, California brought in much lower limits (GWP 150), followed by the EU in 2022, and the US in 2025. However, in the EU, many supermarkets are now using CO2 (GWP of 1).

If you are buying a heat pump or refrigerator and do not want to add to the problem, the information is usually on the label. To understand it, you may have to look up the refrigerant names and their GWP, as there are more kinds than mentioned here. As with many other things, do not believe the advertising claims without verifying them.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.