Green energy law to crack down on HVAC units in new year

The new year will ring in new “green” requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency for heating and air conditioning units that threaten to raise prices and, for the first time, require flammable refrigerants in residential and commercial HVAC units.

The rule has triggered special training requirements for technicians and fire departments as they grapple with the possibility of HVAC systems catching fire, although testing shows the risk is low under most circumstances.

“It’s certainly a unique challenge. We’re trying to balance environmental considerations with fire safety in this particular instance,” said Robin Zevotek, an engineer at the National Fire Protection Association.

The NFPA offers a training course to help the fire service handle the “unique challenges presented by these new refrigerants.” Under certain circumstances, they could catch fire faster than the nonflammable refrigerants the EPA is phasing out.

As of Wednesday, manufacturers will no longer be allowed to build heating, ventilation and air conditioning units that use a nonflammable refrigerant known as R-410A, a hydrofluorocarbon that the EPA says is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change if it leaks from equipment into the atmosphere.

Instead, manufacturers must build systems that can accommodate hydrofluoroolefins, a class of slightly flammable unsaturated organic compounds considered less of a danger to the climate than hydrofluorocarbons, which the Biden administration has sought to essentially ban by 2036.

HVAC companies say consumers purchasing equipment that meets the EPA requirements will face price increases.

Some companies anticipate up to 30% price increases in HVAC systems because of the cost of new equipment, added training and more extended installation and servicing times. Companies have also warned that the refrigerant cost is likely to be higher.

The systems will require special leak detection sensors, for example, that can shut down the HVAC compressors and turn on a fan motor to dilute the refrigerant leakage with the air to reduce flammability.

On average, a new HVAC unit cost $7,500 in 2024. Prices have been climbing annually because of inflation, labor costs and supply chain issues.

The new refrigerant rule won’t immediately affect existing systems or limit their repair, upkeep or usage, but those in the market for a new air conditioner may experience sticker shock.

Customers with older models could eventually face higher maintenance costs as the refrigerants and parts are phased out and become scarce.

“If you replace your AC after the phaseout begins in January 2025, your costs could increase by as much as 30%. This is because it’s more expensive for manufacturers to produce HVAC systems that use the new refrigerants,” Air Treatment Heating & Cooling staff based in Fairfax, Virginia, advised customers in October.

Francis Dietz, spokesman for the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, which represents HVAC manufacturers, said consumers won’t notice a difference.

The institute advocated for the EPA to require new refrigerants nationwide to prevent manufacturers from having to comply with a patchwork of refrigerant regulations issued by states such as New York and California.

“If you have one rule for the entire nation, that keeps prices down,” Mr. Dietz said.

Mr. Dietz said the mildly flammable refrigerant presents “a very calculated, very minor risk” that will not put consumers in danger and will not significantly raise the cost of equipment.

He said the institute has tested the refrigerants and determined they pose a very low flammability risk. States have already implemented changes to residential and commercial buildings to safely accommodate the new refrigerants and HVAC systems.

HVAC companies’ widespread warning of a 30% price hike is unfounded, he said.

“Our members have not told us of any numbers approaching that,” Mr. Dietz said.

Although the Biden administration implemented the aggressive phaseout of HFC refrigerants, it was mandated under a 2020 measure passed by Republican and Democratic lawmakers and signed by President Trump in the final weeks of his first term.

The language was tucked into a massive year-end spending bill known in Washington as “omnibus.”

The legislation’s main features were to fund the government and provide additional COVID-19 aid. It also included a measure requiring the phaseout of most HFC refrigerants by 2036 and added requirements for controlling leaks and regulating the disposal of HFC refrigerants.

“The groundbreaking new law is the biggest action this Congress has taken to meet the climate crisis,” officials at the National Resource Defense Council, a clean-energy advocacy group, proclaimed after Mr. Trump signed the bill.

The law’s impetus stemmed from a 2016 agreement signed by the U.S. under the Obama administration and nearly 200 other countries to phase out HFCs by 80% over 30 years.

“The ambitious phase-down schedule will avoid more than 80 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 2050 — avoiding up to [31 degrees] warming by the end of the century — while continuing to protect the ozone layer,” EPA officials said.