Replacement and Conversion of CFC 

Chillers Slower Than Expected Assuring 

Steady Demand for Non-CFC Units for a 

Decade 

April 25, 2005 -- Contact Joe Stevens (703-524-8800) 

ARLINGTON Va. - Manufacturers of chillers used for comfort cooling in buildings 

replaced or converted 2,753 units that use chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants during 

2004, leaving an estimated 33,300 chillers still using CFCs. The use of CFC refrigerants 

in new equipment was banned under the Montreal Protocol at the end of 1995 due to 

concerns about CFCs eroding the Earth's ozone layer. 

 The annual survey of chiller manufacturers by the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration 

Institute (ARI) showed that building owners in the United States, as of Jan. 1, 2005, had 

replaced or converted 46,703 units, or 58 percent, of the 80,000 CFC chillers in use at the 

end of 1995. New non-CFC chillers reduce maintenance costs, use less electricity and can 

be at least 40 percent more energy efficient than the CFC chillers installed only 20 years 

ago, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). At the current pace, 

it will take more than 10 years to replace all the CFC chillers in operation today. Chillers 

cool circulating water as part of the air conditioning system in a range of facilities that 

includes offices, hospitals, malls, airports, factories, sports complexes, government 

buildings and educational institutions like colleges. 

 According to ARI, during 2004 there were 176 conversions and 2,753 chillers 

replaced with non-CFC equipment. The pace of the phase-out has been slower than 

expected due in part to federal tax laws, which require depreciation of the chillers over 39 

years. 

 Congressman Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), an active member of the Congressional 

Manufacturing Caucus, has introduced legislation, entitled H.R. 1241, the "Cool and 

Efficient Buildings Act," which will set the depreciation period from 39 years to 20 years 

for "any property which is part of a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, or refrigeration 

system and which is installed on or in a building which is non residential real property." 

 According to Hoekstra, "The current 39-year depreciation period on HVACR systems 

is not reflective of their average life span, and it is not cost effective. The Cool and 

Efficient Buildings Act will provide an incentive for businesses to invest in new 
equipment, which will save businesses money in the long run and provide another 

stimulus to the U.S. economy." 

 The legislation notes that the tax code change would decrease the nation's energy 

consumption by taking advantage "of the remarkable increase in energy efficiency due to 

technological advances" achieved by the air conditioning industry. 

 A wide range of non-residential buildings would qualify for the new depreciation rate 

including offices, malls, airports and factories where HVACR equipment, from large 

tonnage liquid chillers to unitary air conditioners and heat pumps, plays a key role in 

increased productivity and makes possible use of heat sensitive computers and 

telecommunications gear. 

 Building owners have replaced 37,643 and converted 9,060 CFC chillers, leaving an 

estimated 33,297 still in service, most of which use CFC-11 or CFC-12 refrigerants. ARI 

manufacturers estimated there will be 155 conversions and 2,674 replacements during 

2005, bringing the total converted and replaced to 62 percent of the total by Jan. 1, 2006. 

The following chart estimates conversions and replacements using centrifugal, screw, 

reciprocating and absorption chillers.

 Non-CFC chillers use alternative refrigerants accepted for use by the EPA. They 

include units with hydrofluorocarbons, HFC-134a, HFC-410A and HFC-407C and 

hydrochlorofluorocarbons, HCFC-123 and HCFC-22. To avoid emissions to the 

atmosphere and encourage recycling of refrigerants, EPA rules prohibit the venting of 

CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs, which requires the recovery of these refrigerants and promotes 

the reclamation of these refrigerants for re-use and sale when they meet purity limits set 

in ARI Standard 700. 

 The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute is the trade association representing 

manufacturers of more than 90 percent of North American produced central air 

conditioning and commercial refrigeration equipment. 

 This and other news items may be found on the Internet at ARI's World Wide Web 

homepage, www.ari.org.