English

New York, NY (December 5, 2011) — The International Copper Association has recently cooperated with several major OEMs in projects to replace evaporator and condenser coils in existing residential air conditioning with optimized coil designs that use smaller diameter, inner-grooved MicroGroove tubes.

New York, NY (November 22, 2011) — The International Copper Association today announced that copper tubes are well suited for use with natural refrigerants such as propane (R290) and carbon dioxide (R744).  According the ICA, the advantages of copper tubes, and especially small diameter copper tubes, in these applications are multifold. These advantages include high thermal conductivity, high burst strength and low tube volume.

R744 Goes Mainstream

New York, NY (November 15, 2011) — The International Copper Association today announced that the air conditioner manufacturing giant Chigo has reduced the tube weight in one of its air conditioning systems by 30 percent.

This weight reduction was achieved simply by switching to smaller diameter copper tubes in the evaporator and condenser coils of the system. The tube diameter was reduced from 9.52 mm to 5 mm in the condenser and from 7 mm to 5 mm in the evaporator.

Prague, Czech Republic (21 August 2011) — The International Copper Association today announced that MicroGroove technology will be on exhibit at the 23rd IIR International Congress of Refrigeration, Prague, Czech Republic. The MicroGroove exhibit will run for five days from August 21-26 at the Prague Congress Centre, i.e., the venue for the Congress. 

New York, NY (August 12, 2011) — The International Copper Association today announced joint research with Shanghai Jiao Tong University on the optimization of coil designs made with smaller diameter copper tubes.  Simulation-based design methods were applied to minimizing total system costs of a unit with a nominal cooling capacity of 3450 watts. Costs were reduced by 17 percent compared to systems made with larger diameter tubes.

New York, NY (July 15, 2010) — The International Copper Association (ICA) today announced a new heat exchanger coil technology that benefits from smaller diameter copper tubes. The new product designs and associated manufacturing processes are a culmination of years of research.

Heat transfer from the refrigerant to the tube wall is more effective inside copper tubes with diameters smaller than the conventional diameter. Consequently, coils can be made less bulky and air conditioners with higher energy efficiency can be made smaller and lighter.

New York, NY (August 2, 2010) — The International Copper Association (ICA) today announced performance analysis results for heat exchanger coils with small diameter copper tubes. The coil designs were developed with the aid of design software that optimizes copper tubes and advanced fins for both condensers and evaporators in residential air-conditioner applications. The performance analysis showed that coils designed with small tubes require significantly less tube and fin material than conventional designs.

New York, NY (September 30, 2010) — The International Copper Association (ICA) today announced recent research results for heat exchanger coils made with small-diameter copper tubes. Research results from a Chinese small-diameter copper tube research consortium as well as published articles from Chinese OEMs form a foundation for the development of air conditioning products that use less material and are more economical than those products made with conventional tubes.

New York, NY (October 29, 2010) — One of the most exciting recent developments in heat exchanger coil design is the outstanding performance of microgroove-enhanced, small-diameter copper tubes. The International Copper Association (ICA) today announced laboratory test results on small-diameter copper tubes with and without enhanced inside surfaces. The results prove that grooving the inner surfaces greatly increases the local heat transfer coefficient inside such “microgroove” tubes.

New York, NY (November 30, 2010) —  The International Copper Association (ICA) today announced that manufacturers continue to reduce materials requirements in designs of heat exchangers for air conditioning and refrigeration products through the use of MicroGroove™ technology. Products made with inner-grooved, small tubes of copper use less materials yet deliver the same performance as products made with larger tubes.