Canada’s Refrigerant Transition-

Climate Change is on the minds of Canadians. We see it every day in the news and the HVACR sector has not escaped the impact. As the heating and cooling of buildings accounts for just under 20% of the carbon emissions in Canada, we will be impacted by carbon reduction plans being announced or contemplated Federally, Provincially and Municipally.

As the voice of the HVACR industry in Canada, HRAI has committed to work with government to lower CO2 levels in buildings. The most active file currently is the Refrigerant Transition. We are committed to ensuring a smooth conversion to lower GWP refrigerants in the coming months.

The shift towards using low-GWP products is a global trend and means moving from refrigerants that are classified by ASHRAE as A1 (non-toxic, non-flammable) to lower GWP alternatives that primarily fall into the A2L category (non-toxic, but slightly flammable). This is an important distinction as it means shifting an entire industry towards materials that are not currently recognized by Canadian regulations.

Over the past year HRAI has been actively working with both Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and provincial regulators to ensure that our regulations, codes and standards are updated and aligned as much as possible with regulations south of the border to ensure we can handle, transport, service and install products charged with the new refrigerants.

The pace of change in Canada is primarily being driven by recent announcements in the United States. In December, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) ruled that no products can be manufactured in the U.S. containing high GWP refrigerants after January 1, 2025. Most of the Air Conditioners, Heat Pump and refrigerant equipment currently sold in Canada comes from U.S. based OEM’s.

We are very pleased to report that even though Canada is meeting our HFC phase-down requirements Environment and Climate Change Canada is investigating changes to the ODSHAR regulations in Canada in response to the recent changes in the United States.

HRAI has asked for member input. While organizations may choose to respond directly to the request for submission, we urge you to send your thoughts in writing to HRAI as well. Gathering your comments, empowers us to respond on behalf of the industry . Please specify what you would like to see changed or added and why. Statements such as ‘aligning with the EPA guidelines’ are too vague. This initiative seeks to gather insights on the current state of HFC alternatives' usage and adoption in Canada. HRAI is committed to working alongside ECCC to foster an open exchange of information between ECCC and our members. Specifying which sections/charts/attachments etc., from the EPA you would like to see duplicated will allow us to build stronger arguments for a greater alignment between Canada and the U.S.

In addition to our work with ECCC, HRAI is pleased to report progress across the provinces in adopting CSA B52 Chapter 13. The CSA B52 committee released the latest version at the end of 2023, allowing us to begin meeting with provincial authorities to encourage early adoption of B52 to ensure installation of lower GWP products can proceed in each province. Generally, the provinces have agreed to an early adoption. Most provinces are expected to adopt the building codes by October 2024. The next 90 days will set the stage for the balance of the year.

Several OEM’s have started converting their manufacturing sites to products with lower GWP refrigerants with an expectation that the Canadian marketplace will be served by these products by the end of the year. There are currently no limits to shipping AC or Heat Pumps charged with legacy A1 refrigerants but, practically, they are being phased out by the OEMs to comply with regulations in the United States. This file will remain very active over the coming months, and we are advancing the industry position on all fronts.

This move to more flammable refrigerants will require technicians to be retrained. To help this group adjust, HRAI has launched a new training program that provides the basics on handling and servicing products with the new lower GWP refrigerants.

As more information becomes available, we will continue to communicate with the HRAI membership base and key stakeholders.

If you have specific questions, please feel to reach out to me at smacleod@hrai.ca.

Sandy MacLeod
President & CEO
Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI)

2680 Matheson Blvd E., Suite 100, Mississauga, ON, L4W 0A5
Business: 1-800-267-2231 or 1-905-602-4700 ext. 238
Mobile: 1-416-540-0360
smacleod@hrai.ca


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