Economic Criteria:

In spite of the chemical, thermodynamic, physical and security criteria, there is another criterion from which we judge an ideal refrigerant. The economic criterion considers the cost of the refrigerant, cost of storage and handling, the availability and supply levels of the refrigerant. We described each of these in detail following.

Cost of Refrigerant:

The expense of the refrigerant contains a big effect on the total cost of the refrigeration system. Therefore, its cost must be as low as possible. From this point of view, ammonia and water are ideally appropriate, but their low chemical and thermodynamic properties limit their use in all of types of refrigeration systems. Particularly, for flooded kind evaporator or condenser, the refrigerant amount needed is high and their expense needs to be factored in while making the preliminary investments.

Availability and Supply:

The refrigerant must be simply available in the market and in abundant quantity. It ensures that the price of the refrigerant is not unaffordable. An abundant & free supply of the refrigerant ensures that refrigeration systems shall be designed especially for use with them.

Storage and Handling:

The refrigerant must be such that it may be conveniently stored & handled throughout transportation & charging. This should be holding up in as small a pressure vessel as possible. Also, if we ought to handle a flammable or toxic refrigerant, then the expense involved shall be higher compared to handling and storage expense of non-flammable and non-toxic refrigerant.

From the above conversion of the ideal properties of refrigerants, we may come to the conclusion that none of the refrigerants use today and available satisfies these conditions completely. As such, we ought to make a detailed analysis of the different factors like expense, performance of the refrigeration system and security issues before selecting on using a specific refrigerant.