All around the world, governments are implementing local legislation to meet their obligations to phase out the use of HCFCs. The exact transition plans depend on your location. Some geographies, such as the EU, are near complete in phasing out the use of HCFCs. Others, such as the USA, Japan and Australia, are making substantial progress through usage and quota restrictions.
Many other parts of the world, including the majority of emerging markets, are starting the process of phase-down. In most of these countries, the first quotas came into force in 2013, reducing the volume of HCFCs sold to 2010 levels. Further reductions will come into force in 2015 (10% reduction) and 2020 (25% reduction) onwards towards the aim of total phase-down by 2040.
These quota reductions will reduce the volume of HCFCs available in your market, leading to product shortages and cost increases. Therefore it makes sense to look for alternative products, such as HFCs and natural refrigerants.
Linde Support: Finding the Route that Suits You Best
Our engineers can advise you on the various options available. Factoring in the age, working life, condition and operating costs of your facility, we can help you identify the phase-out strategy best suited to your application:
Convert: In many cases it makes sense to convert your system to run on a retrofit HFC refrigerant. Once you have selected the best solution, the process is relatively quick and simple in many cases.
Change: Alternatively you could decide to change your current equipment for a system designed to run on a different refrigerant. This option gives you access to the latest technologies, also giving you the widest range of potential solutions.
Continue to use your current equipment and refrigerants during the phase down period: This may lead to shortages and cost increases. If this is your preferred route, we also offer support with reclaim and recovery services in some markets.