As the HVACR industry transitions away from HFCs such as R-410A to alternative refrigerants that are mildly flammable (A2L), it is not surprising that those who will be handling – or teaching about -- these new products have a lot of questions.
The EPA held a public workshop to explain how it will build off its final 2021 HFC baseline and phasedown rule to establish the allowance allocation methodology for 2024 and beyond.
The HFC phasedown and impending transition to lower-GWP refrigerants were top-of-mind at the recent AHR Expo. With the AIM Act, there is no stopping the transition to A2L refrigerants.
The Interagency Task Force on Illegal HFC Trade announced that over the past 10 weeks, it has prevented illegal HFC shipments equivalent to approximately 530,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
There have been jokes in the HVAC industry about smuggling R-22 ever since the refrigerant phasedown was announced, but a Texas man isn’t laughing after getting sentenced for doing just that.
Unlike the last transition, which shifted from the use of one nonflammable refrigerant to another, many of these new refrigerants are mildly flammable (A2L), so additional training will be needed in order to safely use them.
In order to install or service equipment containing new refrigerants, additional safety measures will need to be followed by HVAC contractors and technicians.