The European Commission (EC), the executive body of the 25 member countries of the European Union (EU) responsible for proposing legislation, is continuing its efforts to phase down — and in some applications phase out — use of HFC refrigerants in much of Europe.

It’s important for readers within the refrigeration industry to be aware of what’s being talked about in Europe, especially from a regulatory standpoint. There is talk of a phaseout of virgin HFC refrigerant production rather than a phasedown.

In early 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) approval to three hydrocarbon (HC) refrigerants in some applications. That could well have laid the groundwork for wider use of a type of refrigerant that is used in Europe and Asia on a much broader scale.

Sustainability and hydrocarbon refrigerants have moved high on the agenda of initiatives being offered to those in HVACR by the RSES.

One measure of the impact of CO2 as a refrigerant comes with the increasing number of applications in North America, where its use can be stymied with questions related to codes and regulations in municipalities as well as the learning curve of installation and service technicians.

A technical conference in 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand, has provided some of the most up-to-date information on a way to deal with unwanted ozone depleting and greenhouse gases. The conference was the 32nd Open Ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.

Tecumseh used last fall’s Chillventa expo in Nuremberg, Germany, to highlight a number of its developments in commercial refrigeration. Among the announcements made at the event, the company showed a new range of condensing units equipped with semi-hermetic compressors.

The attention that’s being paid to HFC refrigerants used as retrofits in HCFC-22 systems is among the more positive developments in the industry. Refrigerant manufacturers are working with contractors and end users in doing such retrofits in real-world situations.

Rajan Rajendran has garnered recognition as one of the leading experts on the use of alternative refrigerants. His knowledge and ability has gained him recognition as one of The NEWS’ 2012 NEWSMakers.

Now, more than ever, the industry has been looking for alternatives to R-22 to keep the huge existing base of R-22 equipment up and running. More reclamation has been one option. But at the same time, attention is being paid to a large number of HFC refrigerants that can be retrofitted into R-22 equipment.