ATLANTA — Will Gresham, executive vice president, Dynatemp Intl., said the company plans to focus on its revamped reclamation program, partner wholesalers, and education this year.

“Most contractors know about the R-22 phaseout this year, but they don’t know about the Kigali Amendment, what EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] is doing, etc.,” said Gresham. “Our goal this year is to focus on educating wholesalers, so they can pass that information along to their contractor customers. We’re looking to create webinars and updates on what is happening, so they can stay abreast of what’s going on.”

And there is a lot going on, said Gresham, particularly regarding how the EPA will address HFCs going forward.

“The EPA is struggling to decide whether or not it even has the authority to consider GWP when approving new refrigerants designed to replace ozone-depleting substances (ODS) such as R-22,” said Brad Kivlan, chief executive officer, Dynatemp Intl. “If the EPA decides that it does not have the authority, the result will be a global leadership vacuum that competing nations are more than happy to fill.”

If states start regulating HFCs, which is what California is in the midst of doing, this could create a confusing and burdensome regulatory compliance environment for the industry, said Kivlan. He added that enforceable federal programs offer much needed stability that allow the industry to make business investment decisions regarding research and development, inventory management, marketing, logistics, and labor.

“In the absence of federal leadership, the HVACR refrigerant industry faces a very real risk of a patchwork of state-by-state HFC refrigerant regulations that would raise manufacturing, distribution, and contractor costs, while also raising prices for consumers for goods they depend on for health, safety, and comfort,” he said. “Dynatemp supports a global perspective on phasing down HFC refrigerants, not an individual, a la carte approach. We overwhelmingly believe that the federal EPA should have jurisdiction over GWP, not states or localities.”

EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Dynatemp also promoted its Dynacycle refrigerant exchange program in its booth. Under this program, contractors simply need to bring their filled recovery cylinders (nonflammable refrigerant only) to their local Dynacycle participating wholesaler, fill out the cylinder tag, and exchange them for empty recovery cylinders for the next job. The wholesale partner will supply the monthly EPA compliance reports and offer store credit for applicable refrigerants, which is good toward any purchase.

All Dynatemp refrigerants are analyzed to ensure strict Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) 700 standards, and the company offers a wide array of products — everything from R-12 to R-404A to R-22. The company also offers R-421A, which is a non-ozone depleting, A1-rated, long-term replacement for R-22. Calling it “the easy choice,” R-421A can replace R-22 in a unit without modifications; does not contain hydrocarbons; is usable with mineral, AB, or POE oils; and is the only two-compound refrigerant to replace R-22.

Publication date: 2/18/2019

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