As a result of the pandemic, HVAC Excellence held its 2021 National HVACR Educators and Trainers Conference online, and more than 1,000 individuals signed up to attend one or more of the 130 virtual sessions. The annual train-the-trainer event is designed for anyone involved in the training of current or future HVACR professionals, and this year’s program covered just about every aspect of the industry, from best practices to emerging technologies to new refrigerants and their accompanying regulations.
The topic of new refrigerants was of particular interest, given the impending phasedown of HFC refrigerants such as R-410A. Many of the new low-GWP refrigerants designed to take the place of their high-GWP predecessors are mildly flammable (A2L), and there are many questions surrounding the safe use of these types of refrigerants. Several sessions focused on these issues, and presenters offered common-sense guidelines to allay fears about the upcoming transition.