The EPA recently announced that it had listed low-GWP refrigerant, R-1233zd(E), as an acceptable substitute refrigerant in its Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program. 

Under this new law, manufacturers cannot sell equipment or products that use prohibited HFCs that are manufactured after their respective prohibition dates. The compliance dates vary by end-use and for new versus retrofit equipment.

As rink owners look to shift away from R-22 — a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) that is widely used in ice rinks across the U.S. and Canada — they face the challenge of selecting an alternative refrigerant that delivers equivalent capacity and proven performance but without disrupting rink operations. New production of R-22 will cease at the end of 2019.

Last December, EPA proposed to modify the use conditions required for use of three flammable refrigerants — isobutane (R-600a), propane (R-290), and R-441A — in new household refrigerators, freezers, and combination refrigerators and freezers under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program to reflect an updated standard from Underwriters Laboratories (UL).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized two rules designed to reduce the projected growth and emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). 

The most commonly heard three-letter term in the ice machine business used to be “ice.” Now, it has been joined by “EPA” and “DOE,” which both are garnering as much attention as the actual end products.