Refrigerants

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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.

To continue to meet refrigeration needs, f-gas proponents are turning to low-global warming potential (GWP) HFCs and hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) while advocates of so-called natural solutions — hydrocarbons (HCs), CO2, and ammonia — continue to build their cases.

The European cooling industry needs to make plans to move quickly to lower-GWP refrigerants as the cuts in HFC quota envisaged by the F-Gas regulations will bite sooner than many people expect.

The announcement a few months ago that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was proposing to decertify certain high-global warming potential (GWP) HFC refrigerants for use in a wide range of new commercial refrigeration equipment did not come as a surprise to the HVACR industry.