Refrigerants are regulated substances, and starting January 1, 2024, the second phase of their phase-down begins. In the HVAC/R industry, 2023 has been busy; Congress, under the AIM (American Innovation and Manufacturing) Act, has both defined the allowance allocation methodology and set a tight timeline for...
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An Overview of Recent Developments: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently rolled out a comprehensive trilogy of regulatory amendments. Given the breadth of these changes, we've chosen to break down the updates into more digestible segments. Part 1: The 15 LB rule, Trakref's initial analysis, published...
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The October 6, 2023, rules changes represent the most comprehensive change to refrigerant management since the 1994 Clean Air Act First published refrigerant regulations. The anticipated updates to the AIM Act, all launched on October 6, 2023. The Environmental Protection Agency issued 4 major updates: These...
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Navigating the evolving regulatory landscape of the refrigerant industry starts with understanding that 12.5 Billion Pounds of refrigerant have been vented since 1994 in the US. Refrigerants known by names like freon and F-gasses serve a critical need and serve as a great coolant keeping food...
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The Inflation Reduction Act, a groundbreaking legislation signed into law by President Biden, has sent ripples throughout various industries, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the refrigerant industry. Its effects on the environment, job market, and energy costs are already being felt, but what...
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New York State has a new Senate bill, S6030, which brings up several issues with climate accounting and Global Warming Potential. As noted here, the bill "purports to align New York’s emission accounting methodology with a federal methodology by shifting the measurement of GHG’s (greenhouse...
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Global warming potentials and boosting your carbon literacy It's time to enhance your carbon literacy, as evolving regulations are transforming the decision-making process for refrigerant choices across your entire team -- and as the HVAC/R industry evolves under new regulations and scrutiny, it's crucial to recognize...
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Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our time -- and it requires a collective effort from all of us to reduce our carbon footprint. While there are many sources of greenhouse gas emissions, from transportation to agriculture to energy production, one often-overlooked...
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SF6 is the greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride; it is 25,000 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide (CO2). For a long time, smaller companies did not have an obligation to report on SF6 based on estimated leak rates if the nameplate capacity was...
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The EPA regulates greenhouse gas emissions under their Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) and have recently decided to place renewed emphasis on SF6. SF6 is one of the worst greenhouse gases in terms of its global warming impact. In fact, it is 25,000 times more...
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