There are a number of unknowns headed into the summer of 2015, not the least of which is how much R-22 is out there and how much demand will be created by this summer’s weather. 

Proactive HVAC contractors have been working to educate their employees and clients on the inevitable phaseout. And, with the price of R-22 already starting to rise in many areas, educated contractors are finding it easier to convince customers to replace aging R-22 units with newer, more efficient models.

Now that we are in a new year of greatly reduced supplies of new and imported HCFC-22, it is important to note that there is no ban on the use of R-22. You can use R-22 for as long as supplies last and you have well running R-22 equipment to service.

The potential for growth and development exists across the entire HVACR landscape, but perhaps nowhere is that more apparent than in the area of refrigeration technology.

This past year I was working on a story in which I asked contractors to comment on trends in refrigerants. I was doing so because so much of my writing in 2014 related to new directions for such gases. I start 2015 with the same theme: Continue to work with familiar refrigerants, but be prepared to shift to newer kids on the block.

Now that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized its R-22 phaseout plan, announcing a large drop in 2015, do you think there will be an adequate supply next year?

The NEWS reported that a man received prison time for venting R-22. Should the EPA step up enforcement?

Live Active Leisure needed to replace its existing system due to the legally imposed phaseout of HCFCs in the United Kingdom. Johnson Controls proposed the installation of an air-cooled ammonia chiller complete with heat recovery and a very low ammonia charge due to the location being close to a pedestrians’ footpath.

The answer to the crossword puzzle I was working on was an old friend of ours in the HVACR Industry: EPA as in Environmental Protection Agency.