The acting administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Bob Perciasepe, has signed the final HCFC Allocation Rule covering HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b allowances for 2012-2014.
Charles D. Jones Co. announced that Jon Melchi, director of government affairs for Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI), will speak on the latest regulatory actions and legislative issues impacting the HVACR industry in a seminar at the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway.
This article focuses on the retrofitting of HFC refrigerants into systems designed for use with HCFC-22. There are now a wide range of HFC retrofit refrigerants for a wide range of R-22 applications from air conditioning through refrigeration.
A reader raised concerns over a refrigerant product on the shelf of a farm supply store. The product had as its sales pitch, “Why switch from the traditional R-22 refrigerants,” and it was noted on the label that the package contained the equivalent of 30 pounds of HCFC-22.
About a month before the AHR Expo, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicated it would permit the industry to produce and import 39 million pounds of virgin HCFC-22 in 2013, down from 55 million pounds in 2012.
With the impending phaseout of R-22 looming, the price and availability of the product will soon make it impractical to use. With virtually tens of millions of R-22-designed a/c systems in operation, refrigerant users and equipment owners will need to employ a number of alternative options to satisfy their cooling needs.
In conjunction with the AHR Expo, DuPont made an announcement in regards to the ‘No Action Assurance’ letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) setting production and import rights for virgin R-22 at 39 million pounds in 2013 versus 55 million pounds in 2012.
It appears as if the spigot of new R-22 available to HVACR contractors has been tightened even more in 2013. Users of the world’s most popular HCFC could expect close to 30 percent less of new R-22 this year than last, according to some reports.
The EPA has sent “No Action Assurance” letters to the producers and importers of the refrigerants R-22 and R-142b, setting the 2013 production and consumption allocations for manufacturers of these gases. When compared to 2012, R-22 production will be reduced in the coming year, but the total reduction is still uncertain.
Refrigerant Management Canada (RMC) announced Brody Thompson, of Brody’s Mechanical Services, Simcoe, Ontario, and Ozzie Xue, Servocraft Ltd., Toronto, as grand-prize winners in the RMC “Right” Wholesaler promotional campaign.