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    • Nov 21, 2016
    • 2 min read

Make Sense of the new EPA Refrigerant Policy


Oh (SNAP) Did You Know About the Refrigerant Announcement?

The United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA) through its Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP)program announced a phase-out date for the shipment of most chillers using HFC refrigerants R-134a, R-410a, and R407C, and R-404a, among others, as of Jan. 1, 2024 due to concerns regarding Global Warming.

This sets about a transition in our industry. We are confident that we have the personnel, expertise and products to assist you throughout this time. We encourage you to work directly with your account manager to learn more. We've also included the EPA Rule Sheet here for your reference.

As with the phase-out of the CFC's in the 1990's due to concerns regarding Ozone Depletion, Trane continues to focus on offering the right refrigerant for the right application at the right time. Trane has chillers available today that use next-generation, low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants that are not subject to this ruling. You will continue to see new equipment and new refrigerants being released over the next several years.

This phase-out does not come as a surprise. The EPA consulted with the major chiller manufacturers, refrigerant producers, and industry leaders to balance the environment urgency for the phase-out while still allowing adequate time for equipment redesign and code updates. Most major manufacturers have already been preparing for this transition in their equipment designs.

Note that there is still no prohibition on the use of a refrigerant in existing equipment. We are confident that any product shipped now will have refrigerant available for service for the life of the equipment. Again, drawing on our experience with the phase-out of CFC's, we expect refrigerant to remain available through recovery, recycle and reclaim activity well after the phase-out date.

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