GreenChill Partners in the food retail industry commit to reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their impact on the environment.

Uwajimaya has adopted Honeywell’s Solstice N40 (R-448A) lower-GWP refrigerant for its flagship Seattle location.

So-called natural refrigerants such as CO2 and propane are becoming more popular, due to changing regulations at the state level – and likely the federal level soon.

The HVACR industry learns the amount of HFCs that can be produced and consumed next year.

EPA issued a final rule establishing a comprehensive program to cap and phase down the production and consumption of climate-damaging HFCs in the United States.

The phasedown is part of the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, which was enacted in December 2020.

With the phaseout of HCFC refrigerants and the impending phasedown of HFCs, food retailers are looking at lower-GWP solutions for their refrigeration equipment.

Now the industry is moving to low-GWP HFCs, additional training will be needed in order to safely use these refrigerants.

It would be wise to take the time now to learn how to safely handle and transport A2Ls, as customers are already starting to ask about these new refrigerants.

The U.S. will have a few steep production cuts — the first one coming in 2024 — but industry experts say that the country is in a better position to handle them.