How much HCFC-22 will be available to contractors in 2012 is an unanswered question as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers a faster phaseout of HCFCs. The EPA began the year by issuing a proposal called Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Adjustments to the Allowance System for Controlling HCFC Production, Import, and Export.
HVAC contractors are embracing Energy Star for New Homes Version 3, with many noting that even though they must now become certified to participate in the program its stricter guidelines improve quality, reduce callbacks, and raise the bar for the industry.
This year will bring plenty of changes to the Energy Star program, including implementation of Version 3 of its New Homes program. Most of the new guidelines became mandatory on Jan. 1. The rest kick in after July 1.
HCFC-22 may not have been historically a refrigeration refrigerant, but it sure has been high on the minds of those wholesalers who deal with a lot of refrigeration products.
Production and importation of HCFC refrigerants including R-22 have been on hold since the first of the year while the industry waits for an official go-ahead from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In May 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings. In its second year, the competition featured teams from 245 buildings across the United States.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added three hydrocarbons as acceptable alternative refrigerants in small commercial and household refrigerators and freezers through EPA’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled the Energy Star® Most Efficient designation. According to Rheem, the Rheem Prestige Series RASL-JEC, 18 SEER, R-410A condensing unit and the Ruud Ultra Series UASL-JEC model have both earned the designation for 2011.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that 25 percent of all single-family homes built nationally in 2010 earned EPA’s Energy Star, up from 21 percent in 2009.
An oft-repeated comment from me in recent years is that while the air conditioning side of the HVACR industry has been dealing with 13 SEER and R-410A as its basic components, we over on the refrigeration side deal with a wide range of efficiency standards.
