March 2026 ISSUE

Service Contractor/Tech Responsibility for Compliance

Join us for our next RMS training on March 24th at 10 AM MT, called “HVACR Service Contractor/Technician Responsibility for Compliance.” Whether you work for a service contractor or you work for a food retailer, you probably have it wrong when it comes to where contractor liability begins and ends.

Are you Ready for NY Bulk Refrigerant Bans?

Remember that reprieve we all received last year from NY on the sales ban for virgin R-404A and R-507A? That expires on March 31st, 2026. Yes, that’s a few days from now. NY state gave us all an extra year to prepare for the ban. Are you ready? Brush up on the regulation with the RMS fact sheet. Trade associations are still fighting the ban, on the grounds that it will seriously impact food retailers.

2025 TTR Reports Due 3/31

The deadline for manufacturers and importers of HFC equipment to upload their annual TTR reports to the EPA portal is March 31st, 2026. See the EPA’s webpage for more information. Email HFCTransitions@epa.gov with questions.

WA Resources for Commercial Refrigeration

The WA Department of Ecology issued two focus papers on their state laws that restrict the use of high-GWP refrigerants in new large-charge (50+ lbs.) and small-charge (50 lbs. or less) commercial refrigeration systems.

The EPA’s Endangerment Finding and Refrigerant Regs

I’ve been asked a lot lately whether the EPA’s reversal of the greenhouse gas endangerment finding means that their new refrigerant regulations are now illegal. The short answer is “no.” The EPA gets its authority to regulate HFC refrigerants from the AIM Act – not from the EPA’s endangerment finding. If you have no idea what any of that means or what the endangerment finding is, listen to this Science Friday segment.  

Rationing Electricity or Rolling Blackouts?

It looks like food retailers who invested in solar power early and often were smarter than even they thought they were. If data centers have their way, we may all be battling for our power supply in the not-too-distant future, even as soon as 2027. This Reuters article does a good job of explaining why we are all headed for trouble.

FRIP Deadline is March 31

The California Air Resources Board’s F-gas Reduction Incentive Program (FRIP) offers grant funding to help California businesses replace their high-GWP refrigerants with new equipment that uses ultra-low-GWP options. The application period for grants closes March 31st.

NASRC Launches R-TRADE Online Learning

The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council launched an on-demand e-learning platform for refrigeration technicians through their R-Trade (Refrigeration Technician Recruitment, Advancement, Development, and Education) Program. The R-Trade Online Learning system provides expert-led online instruction. The first course available is called CO2 Basics: Trans critical Booster Systems.

Air-Conditioned Forests?

The use of open-air AC systems to battle the heat is nothing new in Qatar. The latest tourist attraction is an air-conditioned forest, but they also use AC in their open-air football stadiums (developed by an engineer called Dr. Cool), in their outdoor shopping malls (winning a Guinness World Record), and they have giant chillers in the sidewalks to make life in the desert bearable. As a Montreal Protocol “Developing Country,” Qatar was granted a longer HFC phasedown timeline to accommodate economic and technological constraints.

Cooling Tower Demolition

For this month’s funny, interesting, or just plain cool newsletter blurb, here’s a video of the explosion of a cooling tower in Germany. Let’s face it: HVACR is a male-dominated industry. And men like blowing things up. It’s also interesting from a cultural perspective: how different are Germans and Americans?

Need Some Help?

If you need help with these or any other topics related to refrigerant management, feel free to reach out to me (Keilly Witman). We’re a friendly bunch and happy to help!