Aug. 19, 2014: Emerson to Address EPA Proposed Rule Banning HFCs in Some Refrigeration Applications

Company Says Rule Would Have Significant Impact on Equipment Used for Retail Food Refrigeration

ST. LOUIS — Emerson Climate Technologies announced that it is preparing an industry communication to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) recent notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) that would delist some refrigerants commonly used in supermarkets and commercial refrigeration equipment. Emerson said it will also work with industry organizations to draft comments to this NOPR in a timely manner.

The proposed EPA rule is part of the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) and works in conjunction with the president’s Climate Action Plan to reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) with high global warming potential (GWP). While currently in the comment period, this rule, if passed, would ban R-404A, R-507A, and R-134a in specific new and retrofit applications by Jan. 1, 2016.

“While we support a shift toward environmentally friendly, low-GWP refrigerants, we also recognize the pressure it puts on the retail food refrigeration industry because of the compressed timeline proposed,” said Rajan Rajendran, Ph.D., vice president, engineering services and sustainability, Emerson Climate Technologies. “To help our customers lessen the resource constraints and costs associated with a shift of this magnitude, we have been working to develop products and equipment that will not only comply with this delisting proposal, but also those in the foreseeable future.”

Emerson has developed systems and equipment for alternatives to the potentially banned refrigerants, many of which are approved and ready for application. The systems and equipment will accommodate R-407A, R-407F, and carbon dioxide, among others.

Emerson said it will host a webinar on Aug. 26 to provide an in-depth look at alternatives to the refrigerants that could potentially be banned. You can register for this free webinar at https://emersonevents.webex.com.

For a copy of EPA’s proposed rule published in the Federal Register, click here.

For more information, visit www.emersonclimate.com.

Publication date: 8/18/2014

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