Regulations
The HVACR industry is in the midst of ever changing regulations regarding refrigerant options and energy efficiency mandates.
The HVACR industry is in the midst of ever changing regulations regarding refrigerant options and energy efficiency mandates.
Beginning March of 2017, the DOE imposed a 30-50 percent reduction in energy consumption on reach-in, stand-alone commercial refrigeration equipment, as measured in kWh per day. This is the first of many significant energy regulations to impact the commercial refrigeration market in the coming years, including: new efficiency targets on automatic ice makers, walk-in coolers and freezers.
| Product Category | Stand-alone, Reach-ins | Walk-in coolers and freezers (WICF) | Automatic commercial ice makers |
| Energy Reduction Requirement | 20% to 50% (depending on class) | 20% to 50% (depending on class) | 5% to 25% |
| Effective Date | March 2017 | January 2020 | January 2018 |
| Measurement | CRE measure in kWh/24-hour day | WICF measured in three major components. AWEF measured using AHRI-1250 testing standards | ACIM measured in kWh/100lbs ice |
The EPA has changed the listing of many common refrigerants to “unacceptable for use” in many commercial refrigeration applications. Among these “delisted” refrigerants include R-404A, R-507A, R-410A, R-407A/C/F and HFC-134a. The EPA continues to propose additional “change of status” notices through as addendums to the original 2015 ruling. These result in both the introduction of acceptable new refrigerant substitutes and the delisting or phasing down of the high-GWP substances.
The timing of the DOE and EPA regulations poses further challenges to OEMs who must decide to approach each ruling separately or combine compliance of both regulations into a single design cycle. Keep in mind that the entire compliance and certification process goes well beyond the design phase. OEMs will need to thoroughly test their units for requisite UL and NFC certifications and make the necessary design adjustments to achieve DOE compliance.
