Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector 

Stakeholder Workshop: Household Appliances

November 15, 2013

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST

1310 L Street NW, Washington DC, Room 152

Concept Note 

EPA is hosting a series of workshops for interested stakeholders to exchange information on the 

sectors considered under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program and included 

for analytical purposes in EPA’s Vintaging Model. Refrigerant and air conditioning is the largest 

SNAP sector; therefore, the Agency will be hosting multiple workshops on different end-uses 

and applications within the refrigeration and air conditioning sector. 

This meeting will focus on household appliances that contain refrigerant. The end uses include 

household refrigerators and freezers, window air conditioners, portable room air conditioners, 

residential dehumidifiers, wine coolers and water coolers.

The SNAP program was established in 1994 by Section 612 of the Clean Air Act to ensure that 

alternatives to ozone-depleting substances used in key sectors pose lower overall risk to human 

health and the environment than what is currently or potentially available. Toward that end, 

SNAP reviews alternatives based on toxicity, flammability, ozone-depletion potential, global 

warming potential, environmental fate, and other criteria. On June 25, 2013, President Obama 

announced the Climate Action Plan that will “[keep] the United States of America a leader, a 

global leader in the fight against climate change.” As part of his plan, President Obama directed 

EPA to use its authority through the SNAP Program “to encourage private-sector investment in 

low-emissions technology by identifying and approving climate-friendly chemicals while 

prohibiting certain uses of the most harmful chemical alternatives.” EPA hosted a separate SNAP 

Stakeholder meeting on August 22, 2013, to begin a dialogue between stakeholders and EPA on 

next steps and effective approaches going forward to meet the goals for the SNAP program.

The purpose of the November 15th sector workshop is to foster dialogue between 

stakeholders and EPA and discuss information on the current and future use of various

refrigerants in household appliances. To help frame our discussion, please consider the 

questions below ahead of the meeting. 
Agenda

1. Welcome & Introductions

2. Background

a. Overview of the HFCs: Historical Milestones & the Climate Action Plan

b. Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program

c. Vintaging Model

3. Discussion

a. In many sectors the SNAP program is receiving an increased number of 

submissions. SNAP current has several submissions concerning household 

appliances and has acted on others in the past several years. Are new substitutes 

anticipated for household appliances? Are additional transitions with existing 

alternatives anticipated?

b. What benefits have you seen from transitions? Decreased cost? Support 

sustainability goals? Better for the environment, performance?

c. Where a transition has been made, particularly to climate-friendly alternatives, 

what benefits have you experienced from making the change? 

d. What are the barriers precluding transition to safer alternatives?

i. What transition times would be needed to move to alternatives? 

ii. What end uses will require continued servicing and for how long?

e. Under what circumstances/conditions would it make sense for EPA to change the 

listing status of certain high-GWP HFCs?

f. What are some ways that SNAP can help “encourage private-sector investment in 

low-emissions technolog[ies](?)”

g. Are there ways to provide a degree of certainty for future investments while 

“prohibiting certain uses of the most harmful” alternatives?

h. What additional information can be provided by individual companies or by trade 

associations to inform the Vintaging Model?