A new EPA rule will effectively ban the current standard refrigerant for home air conditioners and heat pumps starting New Year’s Day 2025. That refrigerant is being banned because of its excessive contribution to climate change, and It will be replaced with two new climate-friendlier refrigerants. If you’re not in the market for new equipment, you’re probably wondering what this has to do with you. After all, you may not even know what refrigerant is in your current air conditioner.
The reason why you will want to know more about this change, which in several ways is unprecedented in the domestic HVAC market, is that this EPA rule is going to lead to lots of confusion and misinformation in the marketplace. As an Energy Efficiency Group reader, I expect that your relatives and friends turn to you for advice on issues associated with energy and the environment. Here’s what they’ll be concerned about.
First, air conditioners and heat pumps will be available with two different refrigerants. Consumers will be confused about which of those refrigerants are better for them. Second, these new climate-friendlier refrigerants are slightly flammable. What enables them to feature a lower contribution to climate change is that they break down rapidly if they ever leak into the atmosphere. That property tends to make chemicals flammable.
These new refrigerants are so slightly flammable that they’re unlikely to harm anyone’s health or property. Furthermore, they’ll be accompanied by a variety of safety features that will make it even more unlikely they’ll cause any harm. But this is the first time in the history of the domestic HVAC business that flammable refrigerants are being used in home equipment, and that’s sure to raise some anxiety. There are also some people out there who oppose public policies to mitigate climate change that will be looking to take advantage of that anxiety to score points.
When you’re approached for your opinion on these new refrigerants, here’s the elevator pitch: The EPA’s decision was necessary to keep refrigerants from becoming a major contributor to climate change. People needn’t agonize over which of the two new refrigerants to choose because the differences between them are slight, and there are more important factors that will determine the success of any air conditioner or heat pump installation. If this equipment is installed properly, it is extremely unlikely it will jeopardize anyone’s health or property.
By the way, this new rule only applies to equipment manufactured in 2025 or later. Already installed equipment can continue to operate indefinitely with the refrigerant it was originally charged with. No one need chain themselves to their air conditioner to keep it from being dragged away by jackbooted thugs from the EPA.
If you want to be a force for calm in the maelstrom that surrounds climate policy, you can learn about this new EPA rule by reading my post, and you can do that by clicking here.
