The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed on December 15 to issue regulations to implement certain provisions of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which was enacted December 27, 2020.
The rulemaking proposes to restrict the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in specific sectors or subsectors in which they are used; establish a process for submitting technology transitions petitions; establish recordkeeping and reporting requirements; and address certain other elements related to the effective implementation of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act.
The EPA proposes to restrict the use of HFCs and blends containing HFCs that have a global warming potential (GWP) of 700 or greater for new residential and light commercial air-conditioning units and water-source and ground-source heat pumps beginning January 1, 2025.
GWP is a measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over time relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2). The GWP of CO2 (the reference gas) is 1. HFCs are considered high-GWP gases because they trap substantially more heat than CO2 for a given amount of mass.
For new variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems, the EPA proposes to restrict the use of HFCs and blends containing HFCs that have a GWP of 700 or greater beginning January 1, 2026. The EPA proposes to prohibit the use of regulated substances that have a GWP of 700 or greater, in part, because there are multiple lower-GWP substitutes available for use, or will soon be available for use, in residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heat pump applications.
The EPA requested comments on proposing to establish a GWP limit of 700 or greater for HFCs and blends containing HFCs used in residential and light commercial air-conditioning units and heat pumps and proposing a GWP limit of 700 for VRF systems.
Click here to read the proposal in the Federal Register.
Comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking must be received on or before January 30, 2023. Comments, identified by docket identification number EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0643, can be sent electronically to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov.