Advocacy
HARDI Petitions for Planned Phaseouts of AC and Refrigeration Equipment
April 15, 2021 | 3 minute read
AHRI led an industry effort to develop a timeline of planned phaseouts of equipment using refrigerants above certain GWP thresholds depending on end-use type. This timeline was sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) via two petitions signed by more than 35 industry and environmental organizations including HARDI which were submitted on April 13. These petitions would create a uniform national standard for stationary air-conditioning equipment and near universal phaseouts for refrigerating equipment with California using its own rules for large commercial refrigeration. These petitions are possible through the passage of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act) that was supported by HARDI and the broader HVACR industry.
Under the AIM Act, all equipment transition dates adopted by EPA are based on the date of manufacture and will not impact inventory decisions by distributors or contractors. If the AHRI petitions are accepted by EPA the following end-uses would phaseout manufacturing of the equipment on the following dates:
These phaseout requirements would align the federal government with nine states already regulating HVACR products through adoption of SNAP Rules 20/21. In addition to the industry petitions, EPA received petitions from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). AHAM’s petition deals with appliance equipment including room
air-conditioners, portable air-conditioners, and dehumidifiers, NRDC and EIA seek similar dates to the industry petition however use the original SNAP 20/21 dates consistent with AIM Act requirements. EPA is required to rule on these petitions within 180 days.
The new equipment built to meet the GWP limits proposed in these petitions will also likely lead to use of A2L refrigerants. Last year the EPA drafted SNAP Rule 23 to allow the use of A2L refrigerants in certain end-uses and we believe this rule will be finalized in the coming weeks. So far three OEMs have selected A2L refrigerants for at least some of their products with multiple refrigerants selected so far.
Two major hurdles remain for the adoption of A2L low-GWP refrigerant equipment: adoption of building codes in jurisdictions and training of contractors/technicians to handle A2L refrigerants. Based on the status of the model codes we expect them to be ready in time, however adoption at the local level will take time. Training for contractors and technicians is starting to become available and will ramp up as brand specific equipment is
rolled out.
Stationary AC petition
Commercial Refrigeration and Chillers
Feel free to reach out to HARDI Government Affairs with any questions regarding the A2L transition.
Alex Ayers
Alex Ayers is the Vice President of Government Affairs for Heating, Air-conditioning, & Refrigeration Distributors International. As a recovering political nerd and current policy wonk, Alex is HARDI’s primary lobbyist and regulatory expert. Growing up in Iowa, Alex was exposed early to local politics through the first in the nation Iowa Caucuses, participating as a county caucus delegate to develop the grassroots planks that go into creating the party platform. Since moving to Washington, DC, Alex has spent over a decade lobbying, publishing papers, and testifying in various policy areas, including taxes, energy, environment, agriculture, and economics. His research has been cited by organizations such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Tax Foundation.
Expertise: HVACR Policy, Government Affairs, and Political Advocacy
Please contact events@hardinet.org to book Alex as a speaker at your next conference or event. Press Contacts - to request a quote or an interview, complete this form.
