In December 2020, Congress passed the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, which gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to phase down HFCs to 15% of their baseline levels by 2036. The phasedown officially started at the beginning of 2022, with a 10% reduction in the production of HFC refrigerants, such as R-410A and R-404A, and an even steeper cut will be enacted in 2024.
The phasedown is having its intended effect, as prices of HFCs are climbing and will likely rise even more as certain refrigerants become harder to find. This could hit food retailers particularly hard, as commercial refrigeration systems are notoriously leaky, and continually topping them off is becoming a very expensive proposition. This problem can be lessened by implementing a comprehensive leak detection and mitigation program, which was discussed at a recent AHRI webinar.