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HVAC

Refrigerant Regulation

Market Intelligence  

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Market Intelligence  

Overview

The push for lower global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants is causing a shift in the refrigerants that will be used in future equipment. The recently passed legislation of the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, which was part of the December 2020 COVID stimulus bill, has given the EPA authority to regulate refrigerants based on GWP.  The proposed new regulations and standards will mean additional training for technicians performing the installations as the flammability of the proposed replacement refrigerants are slightly higher than what is currently being used. 

Key Impacts

• The push for lower global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants is causing a shift in the regulation of refrigerants that will be used in future equipment
• The proposed new regulations and standards will mean additional training for technicians doing the installations as the flammability of the proposed replacement refrigerants are slightly higher than what is currently being used
• Due to the regulations, there is shift towards more sustainable products with high energy efficiency and less carbon emissions.
• Replacement of existing systems and gradual shift towards green refrigerants are being observed
  

• January 2024 EPA regulation reduced HFC (Hydrofluorocarbons) production by 60% and by 90% in 2036, which is driving the demand for more energy-efficient products (such as dual source heat pumps which are less energy consuming)
• Transition to lower GWP (Global Warming Potential) refrigerants by January 2025
• January 2025 GWP lowered to 700 for light commercial applications
  

• Key players in the industry have introduced alternative refrigerants to replace the existing refrigerants
• Refrigerants with low-GWP are being slowly replaced in the systems to reduce the emissions
• Rapid adoption of R-744-CO2 as a refrigerant for large commercial and industrial applications and R-290-Propane for smaller self-contained refrigeration systems
  

• European governments are providing subsidies to manufacturers and buyers to promote the adoption of green products
• New service tools will be required that are A2 & A3 certified, and handheld leak detectors will be required when servicing equipment - the most relevant EU standards for refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps are EN 378 and in APAC (Australia and New Zealand for instance-  Refrigerant Handling Code of Practice 2007)
  
  

• OEMs such as Johnson controls, Carrier and Daikin have made significant investments to remain competitive (resulting in improved design and performance in order to meet the regulations)
• Existing products are suffering from a shortage of both virgin and reclaimed refrigerant,  will result in price increases
• Retrofitting to the lower GWP refrigerants for chiller systems is not a simple task and should only be supported by the OEM
  
  

Outlook

Impact & Timing

OEM Response & Impact

Innovation Of Alternative Refrigerants

Government Support / Requirements 

This is a timeline from a selection of major global waste management incidents that have helped influence and shape regulation, the ramifications of poor waste management has far reaching consequences:

2. Historical Waste Incidents - Snapshot

Ver 1.0 (May 23)

Confidential & Proprietary | 2023 CBRE Inc.

The Aberfan disaster occurs in Aberfan, Wales, when 300,000 cubic yards of coal sludge buries a primary school, and 19 houses. Hundreds of people try to dig the school children, teachers, and people who lived nearby, from out of the wreckage, but 144 people die

The Buffalo Creek Flood disaster occurs when a coal slurry impoundment dam, located on a hillside in Logan County, West Virginia, bursts and results in a flood unleashing approximately 500,000 cubic meters of black waste water upon the residents of sixteen coal towns along Buffalo Creek Hollow. Out of a population of 5,000 people, 125 are killed, 1,121 are injured, and over 4,000 are left homeless. Five hundred and seven houses were destroyed, in addition to forty-four mobile homes and 30 businesses

The Atari video game burial is undertaken as a mass burial of unsold video game cartridges, consoles, and computers in a New Mexico landfill site

The Khian Sea waste disposal incident occurs. The cargo ship Khian Sea leaves Philadelphia with 14,855 tons of ash in its hold. The company handling the waste subcontracted shipment to a company intended to dump the ash in the Bahamas. However, the Bahamian government turns the ship away, and Philadelphia withholds payment to the companies because the waste was not disposed of.  

The ship would be labeled a pariah by environmental groups and over the next two years would be spurned by at least 11 countries on four continents. Late in 1987, armed with a signed contract for the ash to be used as fertilizer, the crew manages to offload an estimated 4,000 tons of the ash on a dockside beach in Haiti, but is forced to leave with its remaining cargo after public protests. Finally, in November 1988, the ship arrives in Singapore, without its ash

The Syringe Tide environmental disaster occurs in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York where significant amounts of medical waste, including hypodermic syringes and raw garbage washes up onto beaches on the Jersey Shore, in New York City and on Long Island. This forces the closing of beaches on the Atlantic coast

The 2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump occurs as a health crisis in Ivory Coast in which a ship registered in Panama, chartered by the Singaporean-based oil and commodity shipping company Trafigura Beheer BV offloads toxic waste to an Ivorian waste handling company which disposes of it at the port of Abidjan. The local contractor, a company called Tommy, dumps at least 540,000 liters of toxic waste at 12 sites in and around Abidjan in August. The dumping allegedly leads to the death of 7 and 20 hospitalized and the other 26000 people are treated for symptoms of poisoning

The Ajka alumina plant accident occurs at a caustic waste reservoir in Hungary, when the northwestern corner of the dam of a reservoir collapses, freeing approximately one million cubic meters of liquid waste from red mud lakes. The mud floods several nearby localities. Ten people die, and 150 people are injured

This is a timeline from a selection of major global waste management incidents that have helped influence and shape regulation, the ramifications of poor waste management has far reaching consequences:

3. Links To Key Regulations & CBRE Knowledge 

Ver 1.0 (May 23)

Confidential & Proprietary | 2023 CBRE Inc.

CLICK HERE to access a link to the Circular Economy Earth Map to view Global Policies by region and country.  You filter by: 

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There is specific guidance and regulatory information around solid waste and hazardous disposal for each county in the 'Country Profile and Checklist' documents (located in the Country Profiles and Audit Forms section)