The Life of a Fridge: From Beginning to End

The Life of a Fridge: From Beginning to End By Peter Flynn and Tyler Spink

Outline • Stewardship and Sustainability • From view of producer and consumer • Life of a Fridge: • Part 1: • Materials used in a fridge • Part 2: • Consumer usage • Part 3: • Fridge Recycling

Part 1: Building a Fridge • Producers have an important role to play when choosing what materials are going to be used in their products • Example: • Refrigerant type

Part 1: Problems with Refrigerants • 1800s to 1929 • Most common refrigerant types: • Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) • Methyl Chloride (CH3Cl) • Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) • These refrigerants were unsafe for home use, as it was possible for these refrigerants to leak these toxic gases

Part 1: The Solution Frigidaire, General Motors, and DuPont teamed up to try and find a safer method of refrigeration

Part 1: The “miracle compound” • In 1928, Thomas Midgley, Jr and Charles Franklin Kettering invented Freon • This “miracle compound” solved the problem posed by refrigerator leaks • Properties: colourless, odorless, non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-corrosive gas or liquid • Interesting Fact: • Freon ® (often used to describe R-12)is a Trade Name registered trademark belonging to DuPont

Part 1: The Facts Freon (or R-12) is made up of several different types of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) Solved one problem, but introduced a new one Not until decades later did we realize that this “miracle substance” containing CFCs was actually endangering our ozone layer

Part 1: The Problem with CFC One of CFC’s best cooling properties was its stability(i.e. non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-corrosive). However, their stability was found to be what made them environmentally destructive. Because of this environmental destruction, a replacement needed to be found.

Part 1: The Transition to HFC On January 1, 1996, R-12 production was halted by the Clean Air Act. R-12(CFC) was replaced by R-134(HFC). How is R-134 better than R-12?

Part 1: The Comparison CFC R-12: 1kg used in the refrigeration process represents the equivalent of 10,900kg of CO2 HFC R-134: 1kg used in the refrigeration process represents the equivalent of 1430kg of CO2

Part 1: The Catch HFC was believed to be a good substitute for CFC because it has zero ozone depleting potential. However, recent studies have determined that HFC does have a higher global warming potential than CFC.

Part 1: The Other Problem CFCs and HFCs were not only used as refrigerants, but also in the production of insulating foam. Foam made from Polyurethane The liquid Polyurethane is blown with a gas(usually CFC, HCFC, or HFC) to create a foam.

Part 1: The Substitute In 1996, due to the Clean Air Act, the production of CFCs was halted. A substitute blowing agent needed to be found. CFC R-11 was replaced by HCFC R-141b.

Part 1: A Comparison CFC R-11: 1kg used as a blowing agent represents the equivalent of 4750kg of CO2. HCFC R-141b(replaced CFC in 1995): 1kg used as a blowing agent represents the equivalent of 725kg of CO2.

Part 1: Replacing the Replacement HCFC was believed to be a good replacement for CFC based on this fact: 1 ton of HCFC contributes 1/10th to 1/50th of the ozone depletion caused by 1 ton of CFC. HCFC was replaced in 2003 by HFC-245fa because HFC-245fa has no ozone depletion potential, and the lowest Total Environmental Warming Impact(TEWI).

Part 1: Environmental Concerns When CFC or HCFC are released into the atmosphere, they become solid green house gasses that can linger for long periods of time. These gasses are broken down at high altitudes where they contribute to ozone depletion. As the ozone layer is depleted, harmful Ultraviolet(UV) light is allowed to penetrate to the earth’s surface.

Part 1: Decisions Made by Producers Knowing the harmful effects of CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs, we can see the difficulty that producers are faced when choosing alternatives. How do we prioritize? Does human health and safety trump environmental effects?

Part 1: Producers: Good Stewards? Yes. The improvements made in coolant and foam were to help protect us and the environment, and improve sustainability. What does this have to do with sustainability? Lets crunch some numbers…

Part 2: The Numbers By swapping out an older(15+ years) fridge for a new Energy Star rated fridge will save up to 2976 kWh per year. This is roughly $316 per year in Saskatchewan (at a rate of 10.61 cents/kWh). It is estimated that if all the fridges in the UK were upgraded to Energy Star rated fridges, wasted energy would be cut by 2/3.

Part 2: The Stats Fridges are always on. Can’t turn them off. Many people have more than one fridge. U.S. households have and estimated 44.5 million fridges that are over 10 years old. 12.5 million are secondary units. Of this 44.5 million, 10.2 million are of 20 years old.

Part 3: Upgrading Now that we have seen the cost benefits of upgrading from an old fridge to a new Energy Star appliance, how can we show stewardship with regards to the old unit?

Part 3: Local Recycling Program Are there any recycling programs for old appliances? SaskPowerhas a recycling program where they will pick your fridge up and pay you $50.

Part 3: The Power Side The amount of old power hungry fridges still in service today is huge. Large amounts of energy generated by power companies is thrown away on these old fridges. If SaskPower can eliminate these old fridges, they can reduce the amount of power plants that they have to build, thus reducing fossil fuel consumption.

Part 3: A Good Steward SaskPower is doing their part to promote a reduction in power consumption, and implementing a recycling program. SaskPower is an example of a good steward who is concerned about sustainability.

Part 3: Recycling Process

Why Recycle Your Fridge? Recycling just 1 old refrigerator roughly equates to taking 1 mid-sized car off Saskatchewan roads for one year. –The StarPhoenix

The Life of a Fridge: From Beginning to End