ASHRAE Journal - May 2022 - 64

REFRIGERATION APPLICATIONS
COLUMN
Andy Pearson
We AIM to Please
BY ANDY PEARSON, PH.D., C.ENG., FELLOW ASHRAE
At first sight the connection between the American Innovation and Manufacturing
(AIM) Leadership Act of 2020 and the fight against climate change might not be
obvious, but, like watching a skillful street artist creating a chalk picture, the pieces
suddenly snap into place and the link becomes clear.
The opening paragraph says AIM is " A bill to create
jobs and drive innovation and economic growth in the
United States by supporting and promoting the manufacture
of next generation technologies, including
refrigerants, solvents, fire suppressants, foam blowing
agents, aerosols, and propellants, and for other purposes. "
This is eminently sensible and an example of
what an inspiring graduation speaker might
describe as, " Doing the right thing and doing
the thing right. " It's good either way.
However, it's not a new thought. The original
European Union F-gas regulation of 2006
states (in Article 8) that " the application and
enforcement of this Regulation should spur
technological innovation by encouraging continued
development of alternative technologies
and transition to already existing technologies
that are more environmentally friendly. "
This is handy for America. If the life-sized lab experiment
known as Europe has been experimenting in F-gas
reduction for the last 16 years, there should be some
lessons learned to speed the process west of the Atlantic,
or at the very least avoid some potholes and pitfalls. Here
are a few of my observations on the story so far.
Participate joyfully: Refrigeration system owners are
sharply divided into two camps. One saw the change
coming early and made their move. The other tried to
stave off the change for as long as possible. They were
generally less successful and didn't gain any advantage
from the enforced change.
Expect continual change: One reason for that negative
experience is that the targets continually changed. This
is not surprising because it is very difficult to coordinate
the creation of a complex piece of legislation like the
64
ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.o rg M AY 2022
Victor promised that his second
attempt would be better.
AIM act, but once it is enacted it is extremely easy to
twiddle the numbers. In fact, the European experience
indicates that politicians just can't help themselves.
Early adopters insulate themselves from that uncertainty,
whereas laggards can get caught out with expensive
increases in refrigerant costs and retrofit options.
Beware of imitations: A further consequence of the desperate
position slow adapters are often forced
to adopt is they are prey to various criminal
schemes to dodge the regulations, such as
smuggled or counterfeit refrigerants. This can
lead to complications both technical and legal.
Vive la difference: AIM and F-gas are not identical.
AIM has avoided some difficulties introduced
by F-gas regulations such as training
and certification of technicians and mandatory
time schedules for tightness testing of
systems. It has introduced some useful additions,
for example the possibility of trading schemes
with a 5% " tax " on the quantity traded, so the quantity
in circulation is always diminishing. The phaseout program
in AIM is not as fast as the F-gas regulation, but
ends up with a deeper cut, down to 15% of base values by
2036. European experience suggests this is effectively a
complete phaseout so nobody should assume refrigerants
will be available for their purposes much beyond
2029 when the residual amount permitted drops from
60% to 30%.
AIM has been 25 years in the making, so if you are surprised
by its arrival you haven't been paying attention.
Now is the time to get with the program and view it as
more of an opportunity than a threat.
Andy Pearson, Ph.D., C.Eng., is group managing director at Star Refrigeration in
Glasgow, UK.
http://ashrae.org
ASHRAE Journal - May 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - May 2022
