Page 16 - Read Online

Page 12 of 14 Li et al. Carbon Footprints 2024;3:6 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/cf.2023.54

the R134a has already reached 172%, with an IRR of approximately 24% over the life cycle. Hence, the R744
heat pump - with its outstanding capabilities in low-temperature heating and favorable life cycle economic
benefits - holds substantial appeal for consumer groups in northern Chinese cities. Moreover, considering
that the carbon emissions of the R744 heat pump are lower than those of R134a in cold regions, the
development of this technology is poised to expedite the low-carbon transformation of transportation in
certain cold climate cities of China.

5. Enhanced communication and collaboration between the academic and industrial sectors in the
refrigeration and automotive industries are recommended to effectively address the challenges of replacing
HFC refrigerants and reducing GHG emissions in automotive air conditionings. Furthermore, we suggest
that relevant national authorities regulate automotive air conditioning systems as an integrated whole,
systematically considering both direct and indirect emissions from the entire life-cycle of air conditioning.
This involves establishing comprehensive carbon emission standards and limits for automotive air
conditionings, incorporating air conditioning testing into emission testing protocols. Additionally, there
should be increased support for research in electricity vehicle air conditionings and low-GWP refrigerant
technologies. This support aims to encourage automotive manufacturers to take the lead in adopting these
technologies, thereby accelerating the industrialization process of low-GWP refrigerants.

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
Made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the study and performed data analysis and
interpretation: Li A, Yu B, Zhang Y, Ouyang H, Guo Z
Performed data acquisition, as well as providing administrative, technical, and material support: Shi J,
Chen J

Availability of data and materials
We confirm that the data on the LCCP and the resulting cost benefits are available in this paper. More
details on the datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the
corresponding.

Financial support and sponsorship
None.

Conflicts of interest
All authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.

Consent for publication
Not applicable.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024.

REFERENCES
1. Direk M, Hosoz M, Yigit KS, et al. Experimental performance of an R134a automobile heat pump system coupled to the passenger
compartment. In: world renewable energy congress - Sweden, 8-13 May 2011, Linköping, Sweden. Available from: https://www.
researchgate.net/publication/269125615_Experimental_Performance_of_an_R134a_Automobile_Heat_Pump_System_Coupled_to_
the_Passenger_Compartment [Last accessed on 20 Feb 2024].
2. Hu ZL, Zhang C, Yang F, Fu L. Development trends of thermal management technology for electric vehicles based on vehicle energy