The Use of R410A Will be Banned on January 2025

According to relevant media reports, from January 1, 2025, industrial and environmental organizations in the United States have introduced a ban on the use of R410A refrigerant in new household and commercial air conditioning equipment.

These proposals are included in petitions filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the AIM Act, which restricts the use of HFCs.

The EPA has approved nearly 11 applications. Among the 11 applications, 7 are related to the air-conditioning and refrigeration industry. However, taken as a whole, the petitions mainly propose a GWP cap of 150 for most refrigeration equipment, including shopping malls and ice rinks, and a GWP of 750 for air conditioning equipment.

From 2025, all domestic and commercial air conditioners in the air-conditioning industry may ban the use of new equipment with a GWP of more than 750. For air-conditioning freezers, petitioners are asking for the ban to take effect from January 1, 2024.

In this proposal, the use of R410A refrigerant will be effectively banned. Because the GWP of R410A is 2088, the current products that can replace R410A refrigerant are R32 refrigerant (GWP is 677) and R454B (GWP is R466). It is understood that the GWP of Honeywell R466A refrigerant is 733, which is mainly used to replace R410A in stationary air conditioning systems.

R410A belongs to a new type of environmentally friendly refrigerant, which is made up of R32 (difluoromethane) refrigerant and R125 (pentafluoroethane) refrigerant in a proportion of 50%. According to the classification of refrigerant safety grades, the safety grade of R32 is A2L, the safety grade of R125 is A1, and the safety grade of R410A is A1. R410A refrigerant was once recognized as the best refrigerant to replace R22 refrigerant and has been popularized and used in Europe, America, Japan, and other countries. R410A refrigerant is a widely used high-temperature refrigerant, mainly used in household air conditioners, small and medium commercial air conditioners, dehumidifiers, refrigerated dryers, industrial refrigeration, and other refrigeration equipment.

The ODP of R410A is 0, which is not ozone-depleting, but the GWP is very high, 1725 times that of carbon dioxide, which is similar to R22. So R410A is not the best solution for the ultimate eco-friendly refrigerant.

In terms of refrigeration, the petition also proposes that by January 1, 2023, the use of refrigerants with a GWP of 150 or more will be banned in all new supermarket systems, cold storage, some industrial process refrigeration, and other stationary refrigeration equipment.