The refrigerant landscape in the U.S. is changing due to regulations that are moving swiftly through federal and state governments. At the federal level, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has until October to determine how it will administer the phasedown of HFC production and consumption in the U.S. over the next 15 years. At the state level, various legislatures are passing their own regulations that will strictly curb the use of high-GWP HFCs, such as R-404A and R-410A, over the next few years.
While the U.S. is just now embarking on its HFC phasedown journey, Europe has been on the path for several years. At a recent webinar hosted by Emerson, attendees were able to learn how the U.K.’s third largest supermarket chain, Asda, will successfully transition its refrigeration systems away from high-GWP HFCs to the mildly flammable (A2L), low-GWP, HFO refrigerant, R-454A.