Refrigerants are important to trendy consolation and comfort — present in air conditioners, chillers, fridges and warmth pumps (which in 2022 overtook the sale of gasoline furnaces within the U.S.) 

Their major operate: take up and launch warmth whereas transitioning from a liquid to a gasoline.

Fairly cool stuff besides that almost all refrigerants in use occur to be super-potent greenhouse gasses. And because the planet warms and the necessity for cooling will increase, so does using these chemical compounds — making a vicious cycle of world warming.    

Listed below are the highest three causes to care about refrigerants:

1. The first sort of refrigerants used at present are a category of chemical compounds known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the quickest rising greenhouse gasses on the planet.
2. HFCs are tons of to hundreds of occasions stronger at trapping warmth in our ambiance than carbon dioxide.
3. The options to this downside are instantly actionable, price efficient and impactful (extra on this under)
   

   
   

   

A quick historical past

I feel the refrigerant dilemma is finest understood within the context of how we acquired into the present scenario.

Thirties — Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been invented and rapidly turned the usual refrigerants utilized in air conditioners. Prior up to now, early refrigeration methods used pure refrigerants reminiscent of ammonia, which is making a comeback. 

1987 — CFCs are globally acknowledged as damaging the ozone layer and are phased out of manufacturing by the passing of the Montreal Protocol, broadly thought of to be one of the profitable world treaties of all time.

2010 — The U.S. Environmental Safety Company bans the manufacturing and import of CFC-based refrigerants within the U.S. Air con producers swap to R-410A, a mix of artificial fluorinated gasses (F-gasses) known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). 

2016 — The Kigali Modification to the Montreal Protocol units the stage for a world phase-down of high-potency HFCs reminiscent of R-410A resulting from their excessive world warming potential.

The state of coverage at present

That brings us to the current. The excellent news is that there are world, nationwide and a few state-level rules in place for phasing out HFCs — and finest practices and know-how options are rising to get that job finished. 

State Laws

As is the case with different local weather insurance policies, progressive states are main the way in which quicker than the U.S. federal authorities and world organizations such because the United Nations. 

• California created its Refrigerant Administration Program (RMP) in 2009. It requires refrigerant leak inspections, in addition to repairs and stories on refrigeration methods reminiscent of business chilly meals storage gear that comprises greater than 50 kilos of excessive world warming potential refrigerant. In 2020, California adopted first-in-the-nation HFC prohibitions, together with world warming potential (GWP) limits for brand new refrigeration and AC gear. 
• New York state has a smattering of rules associated to refrigerants: 6 CRR-NY 361-1.5 requires correct end-of-life administration, whereas NYSDEC Half 494 regulates using HFCs in new gear. The Workplace of Common Companies has a nice web site about refrigerant administration.    
• Washington state began its HFC rules in 2019 and has been steadily ratcheting up necessities for reporting, repairs and phaseouts. 

For the sake of brevity I’ll cease right here, however different states together with Vermont, Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware have handed or are engaged on passing HFC rules — with many extra states more likely to observe.

Federal Insurance policies

The U.S. federal authorities’s work on this subject is roofed by The American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act. This laws approved the EPA in 2020 to develop rules for the phasedown of HFCs. The general aim is a 85 p.c discount of HFCs by 2036. The coverage mechanisms used embody establishing allowances for the manufacturing and consumption of HFCs, offering sector-specific GWP limits and writing HFC refrigerant administration practices. Every particular coverage is in numerous phases of improvement, with the refrigerant administration practices anticipated to be shared this fall. 

World Treaties 

The worldwide work on phasing down HFCs can also be within the highlight. Final week, a working group for the Montreal Protocol held its common mid-year assembly to set the agenda for a Assembly of the Events later this 12 months. Life-cycle refrigerant administration was closely featured, setting the stage for what could possibly be important selections on the subsequent gathering. 

The United Nations Atmosphere Programme (UNEP) additionally introduced early this 12 months that sustainable cooling will catch the attention of the COP28 Local weather Change Convention within the United Arab Emirates. UNEP and the COP28 presidency are engaged on a World Cooling Pledge geared toward accelerating entry and implementation of sustainable cooling options.    

Why are you ready?

Towards this backdrop of coverage evolution, there are actions constructing and amenities managers can take at present to mitigate the greenhouse gasoline emissions of refrigerants. The options fall into two classes:

1. Life-cycle refrigerant administration (LRM) is a holistic, round strategy to the method of figuring out, monitoring and managing refrigerants all through their life cycle. Refrigerant customers can get began with LRM by finishing a list of their complete refrigerants in use, committing to stop and restore leaks, and buying solely reclaimed HFC refrigerants to service gear. 
2. Different refrigerants which have a low or no world warming potential embody hydrocarbons (propane or isobutane), ammonia (NH3) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Apparently these substances have been used as refrigerants earlier than the Thirties when F-gasses have been launched. The improvements being developed are much less within the refrigerants themselves and extra within the know-how that permits these refrigerants to carry out to trendy requirements of security and permitting us to leverage their local weather advantages. For some end-uses reminiscent of business refrigeration, these options are already available and value efficient. For different sectors reminiscent of air con and warmth pumps, there’s restricted availability, however important efforts are being made to carry these merchandise to market within the U.S. extra broadly. 

To-do checklist

The Montreal Protocol and the next phasing out of ozone-depleting substances is a bonafide environmental success story. We will repeat that win with the subsequent part of refrigerant administration. 

Beneath are some hyperlinks to assist your organization take motion on refrigerants now. 

What number of motion objects are you able to examine off? Please ahead, repost and reply to this piece with what you may have gotten finished. Let’s rejoice our successes.