HFCF Refrigerant Phaseout Details Emerge

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HFCF Refrigerant Phaseout Details Emerge

in HVAC

Anybody who has been involved in the HVAC world has probably known that this event was coming for a long time. But Today’s Facility Manager is featuring a current article that offers an admirably detailed look at the issue, so it’s worth directing you to.

In “The HVAC Factor: HFCF Phaseouts On the Way” (first published in the February 2009 issue of Today’s Facility Manager), communications director Colleen Hughes explains the origin of the looming phase out of a common refrigerant used in HVAC systems:

In 1996, in an effort to phase out substances believed to contribute to the depletion of the earth’s ozone layer, the manufacture of products containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in developed countries was no longer allowed.

. . . . Today, the United States is preparing for the phase out of another substance deemed harmful to the ozone—hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants. As of January 1, 2010, this type of refrigerant will no longer be allowed to be manufactured in, or imported to, the U.S. for use in new equipment manufactured after December 31, 2009. As with the CFC phase out, this will affect the use of refrigerants for comfort cooling and refrigeration systems. Among these substances is HCFC-22 (also known as R-22), a commonly used refrigerant.

Ms. Hughes also explains how “new equipment has been designed for the next generation of refrigerants—hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). . . . Equipment that uses HFC refrigerants will be the primary choice for those making HVAC purchases after 2010.”

She also points out something that’s utterly necessary for everybody involved in HVAC to know, namely, that existing HVAC equipment won’t instantly become obsolete beginning next year, since “HCFC refrigerants themselves will still be permitted for servicing purposes.”

BUT — and this section of the article is titled “What Facility Managers Need to Know” — this leads to a likely outcome of major importance to everybody:

Officials from the EPA and the air conditioning and commercial refrigeration industry agree there will be an R-22 shortfall following significant cuts in production that will occur in 2010 and again in 2015. This is likely to cause the cost of R-22 to escalate.

. . . . Fms should communicate with their building services providers to ensure these providers have an appropriate plan in place to cope with the refrigerant phase out. It may be time now for facilities to begin looking at replacement options and prepare for the eventual complete phase out of HCFCs. The two main choices most fms have are to plan to replace the equipment or retrofit with an alternative refrigerant that does the same job.

She then concludes with some detailed considerations about the likely rise of the need for facilities managers to bank, as in store, reclaimed refrigerant.

Not to end on too dramatic a note, but consider yourself warned.