Refrigerants

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Efforts by European and United Kingdom manufacturers of refrigeration equipment using low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants to get their products into the North America market have marked another milestone. Star Refrigeration Group of the United Kingdom has launched a U.S. subsidiary.

The following statement comes from the refrigeration equipment manufacturer Tecumseh and was issued on Oct. 15, 2014. It comments on its position at the time on a number of refrigerant-related issues.

This past year I was working on a story in which I asked contractors to comment on trends in refrigerants. I was doing so because so much of my writing in 2014 related to new directions for such gases. I start 2015 with the same theme: Continue to work with familiar refrigerants, but be prepared to shift to newer kids on the block.

The supermarket refrigeration sector is sensing the demise of high-GWP HFCs for use in HVAC systems, including some of the most commonly used refrigerants, R-404A and -507. Even if the line between high- and low-GWP HFCs has yet to be drawn, the industry is considering low-GWP options more frequently.

Nestlé has announced that, as of January 2015, every new horizontal chest freezer it buys to store ice cream will use natural refrigerants rather than synthetic refrigerants. These new freezers represent 70 percent of Nestlé’s total spend on freezers.

This diverse class of NEWSmakers represents government regulation, distribution, contracting, and more. Each honoree instituted a noticeable shift in the industry’s future.

In 2014, the EPA made it’s biggest splash on Oct. 16, when Gina McCarthy, administrator, EPA, signed the final rule pertaining to allowances for virgin production and importation of HCFCs, primarily R-22, for 2015 through 2019.

Driven by shifts in technology, policy, regulations, and consumer demands, those managing the refrigerant sector must surmount these complexities and navigate governmental uncertainty to build a path to sustainability.

Under a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Bozzuto’s Inc., which operates a cold storage warehouse in North Haven, Connecticut, is updating its operations so that public safety is enhanced. The company has also agreed to pay $124,181 to settle claims it violated the federal Clean Air Act.

HFO refrigerants are actually unsaturated HFC refrigerants and are widely recognized as the next generation of refrigerants because of their environmental friendliness, cost-effectiveness, and great energy efficiencies.