New R290 flammable refrigerant gas sensor provides safe and monitoring of HVAC systems

Natural refrigerants, such as R290, are becoming far more ubiquitous to the European HVAC sector.

Senseair, a subsidiary of Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM), has recently launched "Sunlight R290," a highly advanced gas sensor providing superb precision and operating range, with minimal heat generation, packaging space, and power consumption.

Current and future regulations regarding PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), and F-gases (fluorinated greenhouse gases) are seriously restricting the use of previously standard synthetic refrigerants in air conditioning, heat pumps, and other HVAC applications. The natural refrigerant R290, or propane gas is a natural refrigerant, considered to be more sustainable than conventional solutions. However, dependable and extremely precise leak detection instrumentation is crucial to ensure safe operation, because of its high flammability.

Senseair’s new Sunlight R290 gas sensor uses the most advanced NDIR (non-dispersive infrared) technology, along with LED light sources and photodiode sensors. Thanks to its minimal heat generation, the sensor can be safely operated where the is a presence of R290. NDIR technology provides highly reliable measurements unfettered by discrepancies caused by vibrations or interfering gases. This ensures robust and dependable measurements that conform to the stringent leak detection criteria of the IEC 60335-2-40 standard for air conditioners, electric heat pumps, and sanitary hot water heat pumps.

The Sunlight R290 boast a measurement range of 0-100% LFL (lower flammable limit); the concentration of a combustible material in air below which ignition will not occur. The gas sensor has an excellent measurement accuracy of +/- 2.5% LFL. With an operating temperature range of -40°C to +70°C, along with a relative humidity (RH) range between 0 and 95%, this gas sensor is capable of stable operation in extreme conditions and caters to an extensive array of applications, including air conditioning units, dehumidifiers, control panel coolers and heat pumps.

The sensor has an average service life of over fifteen years when operating in standard environmental conditions. It includes an automatic baseline correction (ABC) algorithm, which facilitates maintenance free use over long time periods. This cutting edge sensor comes in a compact packaging size of 34 × 21 × 12 mms with power consumption of 94 μA.

Senseair also offer this versatile gas sensor as a standalone refrigerant detection system, the RDS R290, which enables rest-assured leak detection without needing to integrate it into existing systems.