Heatcraft Unveils CO2, A2L Refrigeration Options
The company is focusing on supporting customers through the refrigerant transition
REGULATION RESPONSE: During the AHR Expo, Heatcraft vice president and general manager Bob Landi discussed how the company is responding to increased regulations in the refrigeration industry.
LAS VEGAS — At the AHR Expo, Heatcraft’s Monday press conference showcased its latest CO₂ and A2L products, underscoring the company’s commitment to advancing refrigeration technologies and supporting contractors, distributors, and end users through the refrigerant transition.
Bob Landi, vice president and general manager, discussed Heatcraft’s response to increasing regulations in the refrigeration industry, emphasizing the company’s dual-refrigerant solution and expanded training efforts. “Regulations are really starting to pick up, and a big part of our role as an OEM is we need to help our customers navigate all the uncertainty out there. That’s why we’re going back to our core philosophy of thinking about things from the customer standpoint.”
That means, first, figuring out how to make the transition as easy as possible, which involved getting feedback from customers about their concerns, Landi said. He noted that the feedback resulted in the dual-refrigerant solution announced last year. This system is designed to operate with both A1 (HFC) and A2L (HFO) refrigerants, providing flexibility to meet current regulations while preparing for future mandates.
“The other big part that we’ve started to invest even more in this upcoming year is training,” said Landi. “We’re making both physical investments for infrastructure, as well as investments in people to increase our ability to train and help contractors and distributors navigate some of these changes going on.”
New products were on display as well, with marketing director David Bolanos noting that, “At the center of everything we do is a very simple principle: We listen to our customers and we respond with practical, flexible, market-ready solutions.”
One solution is Heatcraft’s new 90-bar CO2 low-profile unit cooler, which reduces refrigerant venting in food retail and restaurant applications compared with 45-bar CO2 evaporators. Bolanos said the unit improves charge retention and enables faster restarts after outages or maintenance, reducing downtime.
Also on display was a 15-horsepower CO2 vertical condensing unit, which is the first in a new line of smaller CO2 condensing units. Available later in 2026, it will provide a low-GWP option for commercial processes and cold storage when large rack systems aren’t necessary, improving performance and total cost of ownership.
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New fractional air-cooled condensing units (CDUs) deliver a compact, modular solution for smaller commercial refrigeration applications, offering energy efficiency, installation flexibility, and scalability. Compatible with R-134a, R-404A, R-448A/449A, R-407C, R-450, and R-513, the units include standard installation and protection components and feature unit bearing fan motors for improved reliability.
“These are not isolated launches,” said Bolanos. “These are part of a broader product portfolio that is meant to meet the customers where they are today and where they’re going in the future.”
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