East Construction Views | Engineering News-Record

The next Viewpoint is written by Tristan Schwartzman, principal and director of vitality providers at Goldman Copeland, and Stephen Murphy, an vitality engineer at Goldman Copeland 

The State of New York has carried out a brand new regulation to quantify and finally scale back leakage of hydrofluorocarbons, the greenhouse gases typically utilized in refrigeration and cooling gear. It’s a part of implementation of the state’s Local weather Act, and it straight impacts industrial property house owners, who ought to perceive its implications and necessities for them.

Within the early Nineties, restrictions have been positioned on using R11 refrigerants, and afterward R22 refrigerants, but the query stays: What refrigerants at the moment are getting used and in what quantities, and the way a lot is being launched into the ambiance by means of leakage?

That’s why the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has adopted an amended Half 494 regulation on hydrofluorocarbons. To adjust to this regulation, industrial property house owners with giant (>1500 lbs of refrigerant) or medium-size (>200 lbs of refrigerant) gear that makes use of refrigerant should register the gear on a state platform and start reporting leakage in 2026 for giant gear and 2027 for medium gear. 

What constitutes leakage? Typically, any refrigerant added to the system is the equal of what has been leaked. Whole leakage, due to this fact, ought to merely be the quantity of refrigerant bought. 

The brand new regulation applies to the proprietor of any constructing that has a essential chiller plant or a big packaged air-con unit or a Variable Refrigerant Circulation (VRF) system. Homeowners or their managers ought to verify the nameplate on the chillers or AC models to find out what number of kilos of refrigerant are within the gear. 

For house owners of bigger buildings, this must be comparatively easy and inside their workers’s competence. However, a variety of smaller buildings might additionally set off the necessities: from multi-family buildings with chiller crops to spiritual establishments to bigger retail areas. Some bigger industrial tenants might set off the necessities, too, with their very own independently operated gear.  

For extra sophisticated programs, together with VRF, house owners might want to search skilled recommendation. That’s additionally true for all sizes of buildings or portfolios of buildings, the place both the extent of compliance is tougher or extra technical proficiency is required.

Starting in March 2026, house owners should report annual refrigerant leakage charges for registered “giant” gear: 1500 lbs of refrigerant or extra, sometimes chillers of about 500 tons of capability or extra. Such giant gear would come with, as an example, steam turbine chillers or a essential chiller plant for a high-rise constructing.

By June 2026, house owners might be required to register any “medium-size” gear – from 200 lbs of refrigerant as much as 1499 lbs, which might embrace models as small as 40-50 tons of capability. They need to report annual leakage charges by March 2027. Such gear would come with modular chillers or packaged air-con models that cowl one ground. 

By June 2028, “small” gear–from 50 lbs to 199 lbs–should be registered.

The registration takes place by means of an internet type on the NYS DEC’s platform and is comparatively straight-forward. It requires figuring out, for each bit of apparatus, info for the unit and its parts, together with mannequin quantity, serial quantity, and {a photograph} of the registration plate. 

To satisfy the necessities, one wants some understanding of chillers, packaged models, and VRF programs–and what number of evaporators, condensers, compressors, and growth valves there are. The method might be difficult for these making an attempt to finish it independently.

To satisfy the leakage reporting, house owners will want any upkeep or service invoices for the earlier yr and any invoices for refrigerant purchased for the related models, itemized by unit. It’s additionally necessary to know what refrigerant is in storage, as accounting for that can scale back the reported leakage.

Homeowners who fail to adjust to the regulation might be accountable for a civil penalty of no more than $2,500 for every violation. For every day that the violation continues, an extra penalty of no more than $500 will apply. The price of non-compliance, due to this fact, provides up rapidly.

The Half 494 mandate will give the State perception into the extent of use of refrigerants and of their leakage. It can thereby encourage a shift to newer gear with refrigerants which have decrease International Warming Potential. 

Tristan Schwartzman, principal and director of vitality providers at Goldman Copeland, a New York Metropolis-based consulting engineering agency. Stephen Murphy, an vitality engineer at Goldman Copeland.