The Transition from R-22 to R-410A: An update

How did it go? It almost seems ages away, and yet last fall, it appeared that some people were scrambling to decide how to deal with the issue of the refrigerant transition. Indeed, HVACR Distribution magazine ran a special issue in January dealing with this very topic.

The Refrigeration Systems Council, under the direction of chair Jon Perry, took the initiative to poll members for some feedback about their experiences. They asked three important questions, and we have provided their answers below. Tom Peric, editor

The Questions:

Q1: did the transition in January from R-22 to R-410-A go for your company?

Q2: Were there any significant issues from your standpoint or the end users regarding this transition?

Q3: In retrospect, would you have done anything differently, and what do you think will be the long-term effects of this transition?

The Responses:

A1: Overall, I feel it went pretty well. From an equipment standpoint, we took a pretty conservative approach, based on the initial rule-making by the EPA. It seemed the appropriate thing to do, especially with the final rule- making by the EPA not coming out until December 2009. We did a good job of updating our teams on what was happening and educating them on R-410A.

A2: No major issues. It certainly would have been better for everyone to have the ruling from the EPA completed much sooner! I understand there were a number of factors that contributed to this delay, but regardless of that, an earlier decision would have been much better. Education for the contractor base is always critical when this type of transition takes place. With the tightening of R-22 production levels, there was some early concern about shortages and escalating prices. So far, we have not seen either as a big issue. There have been some supply issues with R-410A into the market.

A3: Based on the information we had, I do not see us doing much differently. I think the long-term effects of the transition will have a big driving force from standard supply and demand patterns. The supply side of R-22 is going to continue to decrease. If the replacement market of R-22 to R-410A equipment does not accelerate fast enough, the demand side of R-22 refrigerant will be higher than supply. Alternative solutions to getting R-22 refrigerant will become much more prevalent and important such as the current trend and need for reclaimed R-22. The long-term effects of the transition will be similar to what happened in the past. I think a good question for the future is, “When will the next refrigerant/equipment replacement for R-410A be here?” If the transition cycle really starts to compress itself in the future, that changes a lot of things.
Jon Perry, president
C.C. Dickson Co.

A1: In general, I think the transition went well. This was not a surprise to the industry and, for the most part, everyone was prepared.

A2: I believe the wholesalers that ran out of R-22 equipment may have seen a gap in sales if their competition had had inventory left. There were quite a few contractors and end users that, given the choice, chose to stay with R-22. I also think it will take some time to see significant sales of R-410A in the wholesale aftermarket because the service demand is not there. All the 410A in use is in new equipment installations and should not need to be serviced for some time.

A3: I believe the wholesale sales of R-410A will take a considerable amount of time to catch up to R-22. The service demand should be years down the road.
Bill Bergamini, president
ILLCO Inc.

A1: I believe we were well prepared for the transition and that it went very smoothly. We had been in regular dialogue with the major OEMs over the past two years regarding their transition plans/forecasts to make sure that we had blend components and logistics lined up to accommodate their needs. I am not aware of any OEM equipment supply disruptions that were a result of an interruption in R-410A supply this year.