Biden Admin Issues Eco Regulations Impacting Air Conditioners, Refrigerators

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule to hasten the economy's transition to more advanced refrigeration and cooling technologies that don't use HFCs as part of the administration's efforts to combat "climate-damaging" hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and proposed a second rule to manage HFCs in existing products. HFCs are chemical substances that are frequently found in home appliances, but environmentalists claim they cause global warming. Energy experts cautioned that the EPA's prohibitions against HFCs will ultimately affect customers by raising the cost of new goods and repairs.

Industry organizations have backed federal efforts to reduce HFC usage, including the National Association of Manufacturers, the Chamber of Commerce, the American Chemistry Council, the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), and the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy.