The price of refrigerant has increased a lot in 2017, some refrigerant even increase more than 100% in the price, which has pushed up the raw material cost of heat pumps greatly.

The price of fluorspar, a mineral from which the HFC component hydrofluoric acid is produced, has hit a four-year high in the home of the world’s largest producer, China. Huge increases in the price of a vital component in the production of HFCs could place further pressure on global refrigerant gas prices.

The increases are blamed on new environmental constraints in China on both fluorspar mining and in the production of hydrofluoric acid. Since the end of 2016 China’s environmental law enforcement efforts have been significantly strengthened. As a result, the production of products like hydrofluoric acid, a highly corrosive chemical, has come under new environmental protection and safety requirements.

As a heat pump supplier, to smooth the price rise of refrigerant, we should take measures to reduce the filling of refrigerant. For example, we should use more efficient heat exchanger or minimize the inner volume of the refrigerant system.