A Bipartisan HFC Phasedown Bill That Puts America First

Recently Republican senator John Kennedy and Democrat senator Tom Carper, along with a group of fourteen bipartisan senators, filed the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2019 (AIM Act). A bill that would provide a federally structured phasedown of HFC refrigerants over the next 15 years. In addition to the group of bipartisan lawmakers, the AIM Act of 2019 has widespread industry support. Our CEO, Brad Kivlan, was among 31 leaders in the HVAC industry, as well as AHRI and The Alliance for Atmospheric Policy, to sign a letter urging Congress to pass the legislation. The environmental community is also in support.  The AIM Act of 2019 is something that everyone can agree puts the American HVAC industry first in a highly competitive global market.

Why does the AIM Act of 2019 have so much support?

  • It provides clarity to US businesses with a gradual and market-friendly  phasedown of HFCs
  • The HVAC industry has been preparing for an HFC phasedown for over a decade and has invested billions of dollars into the next generation of refrigerants.
  • It gives the EPA the authority it needs to mandate a phasedown of twenty substances known as HFCs but provides no extended authority to the EPA to regulate anything else
  • According to a study by the Interindustry Forecasting Group at the University of Maryland, the phasing down of HFCs over the next 15 years will create 33,000 new U.S. manufacturing jobs, add $12.5 billion per year to the U.S. economy, and increase exports of refrigerants and related equipment by 25 %.
  • The bill was prepared with tremendous input from experts at the EPA, in the environmental community, and the HVAC industry
  • The phasedown structure is aligned with the Kigali Amendment, which will keep the US competitive with the rest of the world
  • The phasedown works through an allowance allocation and trading program

Although there is a great deal of support across the board for this bill, there is still a question about whether the Trump administration will support it due to its history of deregulation.

If you would like to urge your senator to vote “yes” on the AIM Act of 2019, HARDI has created a user-friendly website where you can fill in your address and populate a letter of support that will be emailed to your state’s senators. Try it here. 

We will keep you updated as news of the AIM Act of 2019 becomes available. Continue to check our Twitter account for details.

 

 

 

Big Change to Refrigerant Cylinders Coming in January 2020

Beginning January 2020 per Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute’s (AHRI) Guideline N, Assignment of Refrigerant Container Colors, all refrigerant cylinders should be painted a gray-green color, specifically RAL 7044. This is a change from previous guidelines set by AHRI that stipulated specific cylinder colors for specific refrigerants. However, as more refrigerants have been created, an increased number of cylinder colors have caused confusion and created safety issues in the field. Charging a system with the wrong refrigerant can cause damage to the equipment and to the user.

What will remain the same, is that AHRI mandates specific PMS colors for each refrigerant to be used on the outer packaging, like labels and cartons. You can find that list of colors here. Thus, the carton and cylinder markings should remain the source of identification of the contents inside.

For more information on these guidelines from AHRI, click here. 

Join DynaCycle and Receive A 5% Rebate on R22 Alternatives

As the hot summer months and the busy cooling season come to a close, it’s important that all this season’s recovered refrigerant is recycled and cleaned up to AHRI-700 purity standards so it can be resold back onto the market. Properly reclaimed refrigerant is exactly the same as virgin refrigerant in purity and specification. Reclaimed refrigerant is also vital in order to continue the lifetime of equipment that uses refrigerants that are no longer manufactured. In addition, beginning January 1, 2020 the import and production of virgin R22 will no longer be legal, however, reclaimed R22 will remain legal for years to come. All of these reasons exemplify why it’s important to join a trustworthy reclamation program and get paid for all your recovered gas!

If you haven’t already looked into DynaCycle, our reclamation program, check out all the details here.

We also have an EXCITING offer for new DynaCycle members! When you join DynaCycle, between now and 12/31/19, you will receive a 5% rebate on an order R22 alternatives! See the full details and restrictions below.

AHRI Asks CARB To Delay GWP Limits On Proposed Refrigerant Regulations

In hopes of reaching their goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, and to reduce HFC emissions to 40% below 2013 levels by 2030, California’s Air and Resources Board (CARB) has proposed regulations that would cap GWP limits on refrigerants and equipment. Throughout their regulatory process, CARB has requested industry and stakeholder comments regarding different aspects of their plans. Recently, the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) submitted an alternative regulatory proposal requesting a longer phase-down on GWP limits and changes to what classifies as “new equipment”.

CARB’s Proposal:

  • 150 GWP cap on refrigerant used in new systems with more than 50 lbs of refrigerant by 1/1/2022
  • A ban on the sale of virgin refrigerants with a GWP above 1500 by 1/1/2022
  • 750 GWP cap for new stationary air-conditioning systems by 1/1/2023

AHRI’s Suggested Changes:

  • 1500 GWP cap on medium-sized commercial refrigeration units with between 50 and 300 lbs of refrigerant in 2021 but delaying the 150 GWP cap until 2024, contingent on the adoption of safety standards in the California State Code
  • AHRI is also recommending that new remote condensing units and those used in new construction, with 50-300 lbs of refrigerant, have a 1500 GWP cap in 2021, and a 300 (as opposed to 150) GWP cap in 2024

AHRI also hoped to clarify the definition of “new equipment” to which these GWP limits apply. Currently, CARB’s definition encompasses new stores and existing stores with equipment modified to handle an expanded cooling load or where equipment is replaced in whole or part so that the cost of the components exceeds 50% of the cost of replacing the entire system. AHRI’s concern is that under this definition a store’s entire system may need to be replaced long before it is due to be retrofitted. In AHRI’s new proposal they suggested that retrofit, maintenance, and replacement of equipment components “cannot be done for all applications given the current equipment limitations and restrictions of safety codes and standards.”

CARB is expected to approve final regulations in May 2020.

 

Source:

http://hydrocarbons21.com/articles/9166/ahri_asks_california_for_more_time_on_gwp_changes