With one eye on the environment and the other on energy-efficiency, 18 government agencies, corporations and professional and environmental organizations from around the world have teamed up under the leadership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to form the Building Air Conditioner Climate Partnership.

At the top of the group’s agenda is an initiative to develop environmental performance criteria for chillers, addressing climate protection, responsible use and refrigerant replacement.

According to recent EPA statistics, 100,000 chillers worldwide still use CFC-11 and CFC-12 refrigerants, and 35,000 chillers are still running on HCFC-22. By replacing these refrigerants with ammonia, hydrocarbon, ACFC-123 or HFC alternatives, these chillers would potentially consume between 50 percent and 100 percent less energy.

At the helm of this new initiative is Stephen O. Andersen, Ph.D., director of strategic projects for the EPA’s Climate Protection Parnership Division, who is optimistic that this effort could translate “climate leadership into market demand.”

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