Speakers: Kristen Taddonio, Refrigerant Emissions Elimination Forum (REEF); Tom Deary, Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI); Aanchal Kohli, California Air Resources Board (ARB).
Description: The pursuit of decarbonization of the U.S. economy by 2050 will take a multi-pronged approach. Increasing the mechanical efficiency requirements of equipment like air conditioners and water heaters is one way to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Another approach is by incentivizing the replacement of traditional refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. However, several of the lowest-GWP refrigerant options have higher flammability or toxicity ratings, and may require updated state and local building codes to enable usage. This session will provide an overview of how refrigerants are currently handled in codes and standards, and explore what new changes and approaches could help overcome barriers to adoption of low-GWP refrigerants.
