Refrigerant Changes

Posted on September 3, 2019

There is a big change coming for refrigerants, are you prepared?

The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances (e.g., refrigerants) that are responsible for ozone depletion.  We are in the last phase of the Montreal Protocol and by 2020 there will be almost no supply of commonly used refrigerants (see Table below) in order to ensure a complete phase-out of fluorinated gas (F-Gas) refrigerants by 2030 to meet the requirements.

Historically, refrigerant regulations have focused on substances that have ozone depleting potential (ODP).  Recently, from a global perspective the focus has expanded to refrigerants that have a global warming potential (GWP) which impacts climate change.  In Europe, by 2020 F-Gas refrigerants with a GWP of > 2500 will be banned for industrial units and > 150 for all other units (e.g., household).  There is also growing pressure to reduce climate change impacts where F-gases have a very high GWP and many Corporations are proactively pursuing a move to change all their refrigerant containing units to use refrigerants with a GWP < 150.  An example is the Consumer Goods Forum Resolution.

Do you realize that most refrigerant containing appliances (e.g., direct expansion, variable flow, chillers) last for 20 or more years?

Do you have a plan for the right replacement that aligns with both the long life of refrigerant containing appliances and what refrigerants will be allowed by both regulatory trends and your Corporation?

We can help you develop the right plan including the estimated capital cost so you can proactively forecast your cost.

Refrigerant ODP GWP Notes
R-12 1 10,900 Banned since 1994.
R-22 0.05 1,810 Banned from import January 2020.
R-123 0.02 77 Banned for new equipment January 2020, and from import January 2030.
R-134A 0 1,430 Current regulations allow use after 2030, but global trend is GWP < 150 before 2030.
R-404A 0 3,992 Current regulations allow use after 2030, but F-gas regulations is < 2500, and global trend is GWP < 150 before 2030.
R-410A 0 2,088 Current regulations allow use after 2030, but global trend is GWP < 150 before 2030.


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