Eco-design of an air conditioning system decrease in carbon footprint

Abstract

The appropriate use of energy is vital for the sustainable development of society in the different productive areas such as the industrial, commercial and domestic sectors, in this sense the machines must use suitable materials tending to reduce the contamination of water sources and soil, emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere due to energy consumption. In this context, the objective of the study focused on designing an air conditioning system based on the carbon footprint; life cycle analysis (LCA) and eco-designs were applied as a methodology, allowing to identify the categorization of the contaminant and its level of environmental impact, from the extraction of resources, manufacturing, distribution, use and final disposal. It was possible to evaluate the environmental impact referring to the functional unit of a split-type air conditioning system of 12,000 BTU of cooling capacity, obtaining as a result the carbon footprint with an annual carbon dioxide quantification of 722.8 tons of carbon dioxide. carbon (CO2), significantly representing the intensive use of the system and, on the other hand, the energy required for the manufacturing process of the refrigerant gas hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) R410 A.