Several major manufacturers are producing comfort air conditioning equipment using refrigerant 410A. The trend towards the use of R-410A continues to grow and there is a demand for technicians who are comfortable working with this higher-pressure replacement for refrigerant 22. Due to the differences between R-22 and the newer 410A, there is a concern within the industry regarding what those differences are as well as the additional training required to safely work on 410A systems.
In an effort to properly educate installation and service technicians on the safe use, proper installation, and servicing of 410A systems, several industry organizations, backed by numerous manufacturers, created the "AC & R Safety Coalition." This coalition produced a safety and training booklet and with the aid of ESCO Institute created a voluntary R-410A technician certification test. Although the 410A safety and training certification is not mandated by any government agency, there is a movement to certify as many installers and technicians as possible in an effort to improve the understanding and safe handling of this higher pressure refrigerant.