Golden State Good: The Fine Line Between Being a Good & Bad Owner of HVAC/R In California

 

Compliance is key to your success and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is the key maker. Last week we posted about the DIY solution for all you go-getters and asset aficionados, but now we want to focus on those whom may not know they are affected by CARB.

0.1% of common cooling that cools something other than people is refrigeration!    

 

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Let’s roll. First, ask yourself these four important questions :

 

1. Are you in California?

Stop reading if the answer is “no.” These regulations only apply in The Golden State

2. Do you cool something other than people?

If you are chilling ANYTHING other than live people like food processing, pharmaceuticals, research or data, you are liable and have to keep records. Cooling cadavers? Yikes but also yes, you too hospitals. And universities. And banks. And phone companies. And grocery stores.

DID YOU KNOW? Southern Californians have to report no matter what is cooled!

3. Do you have any systems with over 20 tons of cooling?

You’re not fooling anyone with that “49” pound system, especially not the state. The watchdog WILL catch you and impose fines back to 2011. Last year alone over $2 million worth of fines were imposed.

4. Is your cooling coil below 60 degrees Fahrenheit?

You’re disqualified from being comfort cooling if so. That means CARB does apply to you.

 

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Congratulations, you are part of this world now if you answered yes to all those and it is your obligation to know what to do and how to do it. Let’s continue onward to compliance now that you know if CARB affects you and break down the different solutions:

 

DIY $$

You will shell out less money and are less likely to comply with California’s regulations for environmental sustainability, corporate sustainability, and decreasing your environmental footprint. Hello fines! Check out last week’s blog post, there’s handy information and a step-by-step guide to get you started. We don’t doubt your skills, but we do doubt the regulations to stay the same. Trakref is committed to your compliance NOW and always working to make sure that happens. Think of this as defcon 2, it could be better but there is the potential for it to get much worse. This is almost as bad as not doing anything at all.

Lawyer $$$

If you are fortunate enough to have spare tens of thousands of dollars, an environmental department and someone willing to register as the responsible party with the state then use it by all means; however, this is not the majority. It is expensive and lawyers are not as well-versed in the constantly evolving regulations as we are. This is a defcon 3 scenario simply because of cost and very few can afford to keep it up longterm.

Don’t Do Anything $$$$

This option is for you if you want to be caught and welcome fines. Please, do not do this ever. You cannot avoid compliance just because you do not understand. It is human nature to forget, but to forget enough that you neglect is careless. We at Trakref care, the state of California does not. They have energy profiles of your building through the EPA’s Next Generation Compliance tools and know what you are doing. You will get caught. Defcon 5 alarms should be sounding as this is the most reckless and unsafe option. You not only put your company at risk here but also your job. Thought it started and ended with fines?

We Do It $

We are a rules engine, that means our refrigerant tracking software evolves in realtime with the regulations. Our whole reason for existing is to keep customers compliant, so why not let us file for you?

We’re a software corporation that has been in the regulatory compliance software and environmental compliance calendar software space for years. As an environmental software provider, we make sure our refrigerant capabilities will help you stay compliant with CARB, as well as helping you with ESG reporting and answering sustainability audit questions.

Experts on staff with over 25 years experience in the industry are yours to use. Let us help you manage your HVAC/R systems, tracking and reporting everything you need to know while providing realtime data. Trakref works with you not against and has 100 percent compliance guaranteed and CARB is our specialty! Spend pennies, save thousands.

 

Click below for a handy file debunking some of the most common myths surrounding CARB and its compliance!

 

Common CARB Myths