When it comes to refrigerants, the HVACR industry is warily watching the EPA, federal courts, global market place, and Obama administration. Here, as of June 2, is how things look.
Welcome to year zero. The waiting is over and the F-Gas regulation has passed into law and life as we know it changes forever. Over-dramatic? Well, it will be a dramatic shift for everyone in the industry who thus far have somehow managed to avoid all the noise from the supermarkets about the need to move away from HFCs.
The idea, according to a number of persons within the U.S. refrigerant industry, is to level the playing field for imported refrigerants that some feel are being unfairly subsidized by the Chinese government.
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has joined the ruckus over questions about the importation of HFC-134a refrigerant from China. On April 14 the federal agency released what it calls a “preliminary Countervailing Duty Determination (CVD).”
Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. (AGC) has announced the development of AMOLEA™, a new refrigerant for air conditioning systems that has a global warming potential (GWP) of about one-sixth that of HFC-410A while delivering equivalent performance.
Retrofitting HFC refrigerants into systems designed for HCFC-22 is gaining attention especially in refrigeration because that sector moved especially fast to R-22 when CFCs faced phaseout. This article from Honeywell is a detailed look at retrofit procedures.
The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy has announced its support for the negotiation of an amendment to the Montreal Protocol which would curtail the global growth of greenhouse gas emissions from HFCs.
The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy has submitted a petition for rulemaking to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that seeks to include HFCs under the provisions of Title VI, Section 608 of the Clean Air Act intended to reduce refrigerant gas emissions.