Industry groups back EPA’s move to eliminate HVAC install deadline

The EPA’s proposal this week to remove a key deadline as part of the HVAC industry’s refrigerant transition has been met with a positive response from industry groups, despite uncertainty leading up to the announcement. 

What’s happening: While contractors currently face an end-of-year deadline to install residential and light commercial R-410A systems manufactured or imported before this year, the EPA on Tuesday proposed eliminating the deadline altogether. Catch up

What they’re saying: “[We support] the elimination of the sell-through period… and view this as a positive solution to what may have otherwise become a significant economic expense of stranded inventory,” Chuck White, PHCC’s VP of Regulatory Affairs, tells Homepros in an email. 

• “Allowing [the] installation of products manufactured or imported prior to January 1, 2025, will keep consumers from ultimately having to absorb the cost of equipment that was abandoned due to the date on the calendar,” he adds. 

Zoom out: Before landing on its proposal to eliminate the deadline, the EPA considered extending it by one year, to January 1, 2027, the agency wrote Tuesday. 

• Since industry groups have argued that a delayed deadline would cause unnecessary disruptions, such a move wouldn’t have been met with the same reaction. 
• “Eliminating the sell-through is better than an extension since stranded inventory can’t read a calendar,” White notes. 

State of play: While the refrigerant transition is more than well underway — A2L equipment in July represented over 80 percent of distributors’ unitary product sales, according to HARDI data — eliminating the deadline would provide a cushion for lingering inventories. 

• “We do still believe that there is not significant [R-410A] inventory waiting to be sold,” White adds, “but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any.”
• “Even with a conscious effort to clear R-410A equipment, some stranded inventory is inevitable,” ACCA writes in a blog post. “This rule could save contractors from having to seek international buyers at fire sale prices.”

The bottom line: “If finalized, this proposal could provide welcome relief,” ACCA adds. 

What’s next: The proposed rule will be open for a 45-day public comment period, after which the EPA will review those comments before issuing a final rule. 

• For now, it remains a proposal — nothing has actually changed yet. And given the federal rulemaking process (excluding the government’s current shutdown, which may elongate the timeline), it’s unlikely that the final rule will be published by year-end.