Your HVAC units and refrigeration equipment may soon have new climate-friendly refrigerant options.
The EPA is proposing to increase the options for refrigerants and technologies that do not harm the ozone layer. The agency’s Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program, which identifies and approves climate-friendly chemicals under the authority of the Clean Air Act, would approve new alternatives with low global warming potential to replace ozone-depleting substances and hydrofluorocarbons with high global warming potential.
Five applications would be able to utilize the new hydrocarbon refrigerants:
- Standalone refrigerators and freezers
- Very low temperature refrigeration
- Non-mechanical heat transfer
- Vending machines
- Room air conditioning units
The proposal would also add one new refrigerant that has one-third of the global warming potential of conventional refrigerants for room AC units. The refrigerants in the proposal are already in use in many of these applications in Europe and Asia.
The EPA will accept comment on the proposal for 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. Learn more about the proposal here.
