ShareUS and Canada: home appliance industry sets goal to eliminate use of HFCs
The home appliance manufacturing industry in the US and Canada has announced their goal to voluntarily phase down the use of HFC refrigerants used in household refrigerators and freezers after 2024.
The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), which represents the home appliance manufacturing industry in the US and Canada, has announced “a goal, for which it is seeking the support of government and safety authorities, to voluntarily phase down the use of HFC refrigerants used in household refrigerators and freezers after 2024.”
AHAM adds: “While the primary alternative to HFCs in refrigerators and freezers, isobutane, is used widely around the world and has a very low global warming potential, its use in the US and Canada will require manufacturers to make technically challenging adjustments to products and factories to ensure that refrigerators continue to meet more stringent safety standards than those in other parts of the world. Unlike in other countries, current safety standards in the US and Canada place stricter limits on the amount of flammable refrigerants that can be used in a refrigerator and the technical changes required to keep these products functioning properly under the constraints of those standards could add significant costs to the bulk of refrigerators on the market.
AHAM adds: “While the primary alternative to HFCs in refrigerators and freezers, isobutane, is used widely around the world and has a very low global warming potential, its use in the US and Canada will require manufacturers to make technically challenging adjustments to products and factories to ensure that refrigerators continue to meet more stringent safety standards than those in other parts of the world. Unlike in other countries, current safety standards in the US and Canada place stricter limits on the amount of flammable refrigerants that can be used in a refrigerator and the technical changes required to keep these products functioning properly under the constraints of those standards could add significant costs to the bulk of refrigerators on the market.