Articles Tagged with ''Refrigerant Phasedown''

There’s a scene in the 1963 film “The Haunting” in which something comes down the hallway of a haunted house one night. It was the first time I ever realized that the unknown and unseen could be more frightening that the known and seen.

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. 

In 2014, the EPA made it’s biggest splash on Oct. 16, when Gina McCarthy, administrator, EPA, signed the final rule pertaining to allowances for virgin production and importation of HCFCs, primarily R-22, for 2015 through 2019.

As the pending EPA phaseout diminishes supplies, the demand for R-22 is likely to increase, which may trigger additional criminal activity.

HVACR industry associations, manufacturers, end users, and fluorocarbon producers met with senior White House officials to show support and voluntary commitments to phase down HFCs. Industry coalition the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy and the White House hosted the event Sept. 16 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

China has said it will drastically cut HFC emissions by 280 million tonnes of CO2 — similar to the annual carbon footprint of Spain.

HFC producers’ body, the EFTC (European Fluorocarbons Technical Committee) has issued a position paper encouraging adoption of the proposed amendment to the Montreal Protocol for a global HFC cap and phase-down.

The industry should start getting comfortable with HCs, CO₂, HFOs, and A2L refrigerants, just like a previous generation got used to those newfangled chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).

The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy has offered its support for the negotiation of an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to include HFCs as part of it.