Articles Tagged with ''EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)''

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased 2 percent in 2013 compared to the previous year, according to the latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory report from the EPA. The EPA attributed the increase to the growing economy, declining coal prices, and a cold winter.

In the evolving world of refrigerants, the HVACR industry is preparing for the inclusion of mildly flammable or flammable refrigerants in an increasing number of applications. But the expanded use of these refrigerants won’t happen overnight, as there is a multistep approval process they must undergo to be approved for new applications.

The refrigeration industry may have a new folk hero on its hands. On April 1, Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Kentucky, sent a letter to Gina McCarthy, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In it, Whitfield mapped out a number of “significant concerns” regarding EPA’s proposed rule that seeks to restrict the use of HFCs.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its seventh-annual list of the top 25 U.S. metropolitan areas with the most Energy Star certified buildings in 2014. This year, Washington, District of Columbia, debuted in the top spot with 480 buildings.

In many ways, refrigerant recovery and reclamation is an example of human ingenuity at its best. An innovative and essential product is created, and then a way is devised to prolong its usefulness by collecting it after years of service, purifying it, and using it again.

The ongoing phaseout of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), such as R-22, holds many unknowns for the HVACR industry as 2020 approaches, but at least one sector of the industry anticipates tremendous opportunity: the reclamation sector. 

As California goes, so goes the rest of the country. That adage has often proved true especially when it comes to regulations related to refrigeration and refrigerants. The state's aggressive environmental and regulatory positions have caused the rest of the United States to monitor policy making and enforcement out West.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering changes to its Section 608 requirements for refrigerant handling, including technician certification. The changes being considered would subject HFC refrigerants to the same handling regulations that are currently imposed on CFCs and HCFCs.

The inability or unwillingness of the DOE and the EPA to coordinate rulemakings and coalesce around energy-efficiency and environmental goals will “devastate” the industry, Anderson said.

In testimony before the House Small Business Committee, Viktor Anderson, chief engineer for Muskegon, Michigan-based Structural Concepts, a commercial refrigeration manufacturer, said that, left unchecked, the inability or unwillingness of the DOE and EPA to coordinate rulemakings will “devastate” the HVACR industry.