what is refrigerant

Refrigerant is a working fluid used in the refrigeration cycle of air conditioning systems and heat pumps. It is a heat transfer medium that helps move heat from one environment to another, typically from inside a building to outside (or vice versa) . Refrigerants undergo a repeated phase transition from a liquid to a gas and back again, and they can carry per kg 10 times more energy than water and 50 times more than air. The ideal refrigerant would be non-corrosive, non-toxic, non-flammable, with no ozone depletion and global warming potential, and preferably natural with well-studied and low environmental impact. There are many different types of refrigerants, and it is important to know which one is being used in a refrigeration system. Common refrigerants include hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants, which are used in R-134a and R-404A systems, and newer refrigerants that address the issue of the damage that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) caused to the ozone layer and the contribution that hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) make to climate change. Refrigerants work by changing their physical state from a liquid to a high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous form, releasing stored heat and creating condensation, and then shifting into a low-pressure form and evaporating as they flow back into the indoor unit.