# 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 un its that use chlorofluorocarbo n (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 percen t, of the 80,000 CFC chillers in use at the end of 1995. New non-CFC chillers reduce maintena nce 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 Prot ection Agency (EPA). At the current pace, it will take more than 10 years to replace a ll 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, f actories, sports complexes, government buildings and educational institutions like colleges.
According to ARI, during 2004 ther e 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 federa l tax laws, which require deprec iation of the chillers over 39 years. Congressman Peter Hoekstra (R-Mic h.), an active member of the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus, has introduced legi slation, 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 heati ng, ventilation, air conditioning, or refrigeration system and which is installed on or in a build ing which is non reside ntial real property."
According to Hoekstra, "The current39-year depreciation period on HVACR systems is not reflective of their average life span, and it is not cost effe ctive. The Cool and Efficient Buildings Act will provide an in centive for businesses to invest in newequipm ent, which will s a ve busines s e s m oney in the long run and provide another stimulus to the U.S. econom y."
The legislation notes that the tax code change would decrease the nation' s energy consumption by taking advantage "of the rem a rkab le in crease in energy efficiency d u e to technological advances" achieved by the air conditioning industry.
A wide range of non-residential buildi ngs would qualify for the new depreciation rate including offices, m a lls, airports and fact ories where HVACR equipm ent, fro m large tonnage liqu id chillers to un itary air condition e rs and heat pu mps, plays a key role in increased productivity and m a kes possible use of heat sensitive computers and telecommunications gear.
Building owners have replaced 37 ,643 and converted 9,06 0 CFC chillers, leav ing an estim ated 33,297 still in servic e, m o s tof which use CFC-11 or CFC-12 refrigerants. ARI

m a nufacturers estim a ted there will be 155 conversions and 2,674 replacements during 2005, bringing the total convertedand replaced to 62 percen t of the total by Jan. 1, 2006. The following chart estim ates conversions a nd replacem ents using cen trif ugal, screw, reciprocating and ab sorp tion ch illers.

Non-CFC chille rs us e alterna tive refrige r ants 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 em issions to the atm o sphere and encourage recycling of refr igerants, EPA rules prohibit the venting of CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs, which requires the rec overy of these refrigerants and prom otes the reclam ation of these refrigerants for re-u se an d sale when they m eet purity lim its s e t in ARI Standard 700.
The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Ins t itute is the trade association repres enting

m a nufacturers of m o re than 90 percent of North Am erican produced central air conditioning and comm e r cial refrigeration equipm ent.

This and other news item s m a y be found on the Internet at ARI' s World W i de W e b hom e page, www.ari.org

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