Copper used on Air conditioner Replaced with Aluminum:Manufacturers Save Copper to Help Themselves Out

Copper used on Air conditioner Replaced with Aluminum:Manufacturers Save Copper to Help Themselves Out

The copper price soared by 40% in a year,thus causing loss of approximately half of profit of air conditioner enterprises.In the face of high cost,these enterprises replace copper connecting pipe of air conditioner with cheaper aluminum connecting pipe,and the practice has become an unwritten rule for many air conditioner enterprises to save cost.Moreover,the call for replacing copper with new materials intensifies since copper is a kind of scarce resource.However,the effect of aluminum pipes currently still remains controversial.Insiders consider that hardness of aluminum pipe is not as good as that of copper pipe and the tolerability,resistance to corrosion and thermal conductivity remain unknown.At present,it is urgent to introduce relevant industrial standards to define materials of air conditioner pipe.

According to the responsible person of an air conditioner distribution company,profits of air conditioners vary.Generally speaking,distribution companies tend to sustain loss in selling low-end air conditioners,for example,an air conditioner with the cost of RMB 1800 may be sold at the price of RMB 1600; while middle-end and high-end air conditioners are main contributors to profit.

Liu Buchen,a home appliance analyst,pointed out that,compared with color TV and refrigerator,air conditioner may bring manufactures high profit,with the gross profit even hitting 20%-25%.

Based on annual average price,in 2010,average copper futures price stood at RMB 63,800/ton,up by 45% than that in 2009.A factory representative said,if each wall-hanging air conditioner uses 11.5Kg of copper,presently the profit of each air conditioner is at least RMB 210 lower than that in 2009.

The reporter made such a calculation: if a wallhanging air conditioner costs RMB 2000,the profit will reach up to RMB 400-500; and RMB 210 of cost increase for each air conditioner means that half of profit has been cut.

Besides pressure brought by increasing copper price,subsidies for energy-saving air conditioner was reduced in June 2010,which exerted pressure that enterprises can hardly bear.

Since June 1,2010,China began to implement new standard for subsidies for high-efficient and energy-saving air conditioners.According to the new standard,subsidies for the former Class-I products (4P and below) were reduced from previous RMB 300-850 to RMB 150-250,down by about 70%.While the former Class-II energy-saving air conditioner (4P and below)will not obtain subsidies.

Therefore,manufacturers have to help themselves out.One of the methods likely to be taken is to reduce heat exchanger copper tube diameter inside air conditioner,that is,to replace copper tube (with diameter of 7mm and above) in the original copper tube aluminum fin heat exchanger with copper tube (with diameter of 5mm and below).In this way,air conditioner manufacturers can not only reduce consumption of copper and manufacturing cost of air conditioner,but also dramatically increase enterprises’ ability to bargain in the market.It seems a good alternative,but according to a technician of an air conditioner enterprise,such an alternative involves many core technologies.It remains controversial regarding to what extent the pipe diameter can be reduced,so few enterprises dare to take such a method.

“A good method for copper saving”,which is more widely applied,is to replace material of air conditioner connecting pipe with aluminum or copper-aluminum alloy.The air conditioner connecting pipe refers to pipe connecting indoor part and outdoor part of the air conditioner,which acting mainly as channel for circulation of refrigerating fluid between the indoor part and outdoor part.Previously,such pipes are made of pure copper.In recent years,since copper price soared,some enterprises began to use aluminum or copper-aluminum alloy on air conditioner connecting pipe.Based on different purity of aluminum,each air conditioner can save approximately RMB 40-100.

In fact,the method was adopted as early as 2006 and 2007 when the copper price rose.According to a relevant media report then,China’s major air conditioner manufacturers,including Gree,Kelon,Chigo and AUX,produced air conditioners in which copper was replaced with aluminum in small quantities.

Liu Buchen also told reporters that currently,some second-line brands and low-end models of first-line brands have started to replace copper tube with aluminum tube; however,since the quality of air conditioners in which copper is replaced with aluminum was once questioned and has remained controversial for several years,most enterprises have not made this “secret” public.

A responsible person of an air conditioner enterprise even forecasted in an interview that,once one enterprise admits publicly it uses aluminum tube or compound copper-aluminum pipe,the whole industry will adopt such replacement.

How does the market prospect of replacing copper with aluminum look like? Will there any hidden trouble be caused by replacing copper with aluminum in air conditioner? Enterprises can not reach an agreement since it involves interests of all parties.

Wang Jinliang,Vice President of Midea (which is an enterprise that sticks to using copper tube)China Marketing Head Office told reporters,although some enterprises have replaced copper with aluminum,such air conditioners have two disadvantages: firstly,thermal conductivity is poor; secondly,aluminum tube is not as hard as copper tube,it has poor tolerability and resistance to corrosion and tends to leak fluorine.

Zhou Shengjian,Operational Support Director of Samsung Household Air Conditioner Sales Office also indicated that all Samsung products use copper tube.But he also admitted that if copper is as cheap as aluminum,manufacturers will surely choose copper rather than aluminum.“Due to the soaring copper price,some air conditioner enterprises replace copper with aluminum secretly.But it is definite that aluminum is not as good as copper.”

A domestic second line air conditioner manufacturer in 2007 used copper-aluminum tube which was abandoned later due to uncertain factors.However,the responsible person of the manufacturer was still optimistic about the market prospect of replacing copper with aluminum.He told the reporter,“it is a great improvement to replace copper with aluminum,considering the reduced cost and proven track record,the replacement still has a rosy future.”

Some manufacturers even announced that,“after several years’ development,most components of the existing air conditioners may use aluminum as a substitute for copper,and there is no technical problem”.These enterprises published articles to support the market prospect of replacing copper with aluminum,and believed that the rocketing price of copper as a scarce resource has affected development of the air conditioner industry.“China boasts abundant aluminum resources and developed aluminum industry.Therefore,it is a trend to replace copper in refrigeration pipes of air conditioner with aluminum.”

China Household Electrical Appliances Association is cautious on the above views.Chen Gang,Vice Executive Secretary of the association said,since copper is a scarce resource,the association will surely support enterprises to research and develop other alternative materials to lower cost; however,whether aluminum will be used as a substitute depends on technical research.

Recently,the reporter visited several air conditioner service companies and was told that aluminum pipe connecting indoor part and outdoor part tends to crack and leak fluorine.“This is caused by poor ductility of aluminum and inability to excessive bending,and secondary relocation will cause more problems.”

Although replacing copper with aluminum has been questioned,relevant authorities have not issued any test report yet,and performance of air conditioner aluminum tube has not been proved.In addition,the reporter found that many customers neither know that some copper connecting pipes of air conditioner have been replaced nor distinguish performance between different materials.“Material of the connecting pipe has not been clearly stated in the specification.”

Guo Chibing,Vice President of China National Household Electrical Appliances Service &Maintenance Association,told the reporter that both the country and the industry have notmade any provision for the material of air conditioner connecting pipe but some key components (such as evaporator and condenser) must be of copper.

A responsible person of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce told the reporter,as long as the air conditioner specification has not expressly indicated copper connecting pipe is used,even if aluminum tube has quality-related problems,it is hard for customers to get compensations.He also suggested that,in order to avoid unnecessary disputes,enterprises shall ideally make necessary explanations.Guo further indicated that,if air conditioner is originally fitted with copper tube,replacing copper tube with aluminum tube or alloy pipe during the service process will be considered an infringement of rules.

Industry experts believe that it is urgent to issue relevant standards to define materials of air conditioner pipe,so as to avoid harming customers’ rights and interests and to protect enterprises’ image.