Sustainable alternative refrigerant products to be released this year

Investment helps the refrigeration industry prepare for anticipated EPA and European Union refrigerant delisting rules.

By Emerson Climate Technologies February 9, 2015

Emerson Climate Technologies Inc. announced its ongoing investment in sustainable alternatives in anticipation of possible U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and current European Union rules that will delist some refrigerants commonly used in supermarkets, condensing units, and commercial refrigeration equipment. Both the European Union and U.S. EPA have announced plans to transition new applications away from refrigerants with high global warming potential (GWP), such as R-404A and R-507A.

The proposed EPA rule is part of the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) and works in conjunction with the president’s Climate Action Plan to reduce the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) with high GWP. The rule as proposed would ban R-404A/R-507A and R-134a in specific new and retrofit applications by Jan. 1, 2016. The European Union announced a new regulation that went in to effect this January 1 to cut fluorinated gases (F-gas) by two-thirds from 2015 to 2030.

Emerson participated in and published seven reports in Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute’s Low-GWP Alternative Refrigerants Evaluation Program and has invested in a full lineup of R407A/C/F compressors for commercial refrigeration applications and CO2, propane, and ammonia offerings for appropriate applications, depending on regulation and performance. Emerson helps its customers to qualify for lower GWP (600-1500) A1 refrigerant alternatives such as R-448A, R-449A, R-450A and R-513A.

– Edited by Joy Chang, digital project manager, CFE Media, jchang@cfemedia.com