The new year will ring in new “green” requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency for heating and air conditioning units that threaten to hike prices and, for the first time, require flammable refrigerants in residential and commercial HVAC units.
The new rule has triggered special training requirements for technicians and fire departments as they grapple with suddenly dealing with the possibility of HVAC systems catching fire, although testing shows the risk under most circumstances is low.
“It’s certainly a unique challenge. We’re trying to balance environmental considerations with fire safety in this particular instance,” Robin Zevotek, an engineer at the National Fire Protection Association, said.
The NFPA offers a training course to help the fire service handle the “unique challenges presented by these new refrigerants,” which, under certain circumstances, could catch on fire more easily than the non-flammable refrigerants the EPA is phasing out.
Beginning Jan. 1, manufacturers can no longer build heating, ventilation and air conditioning units that use a non-flammable refrigerant known as R-410A, a hydrofluorocarbon that, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming if it leaks from equipment into the atmosphere.
Instead, manufacturers must build all new systems that can accommodate a hydrofluoroolefins refrigerant that is slightly flammable but considered less of a danger to the climate than hydrofluorocarbons, which the Biden administration has sought to largely ban by 2036.
Consumers purchasing equipment will face price hikes that HVAC companies say will come with the new EPA requirements.
Some companies anticipate price increases of up to 30% on HVAC systems due to the cost of new equipment, additional training and longer installation and servicing times. The cost of the refrigerant is also likely to be higher, companies warned.
Hellbound and Down 