EPA extends installation deadline for higher-GWP HFC refrigerant equipment
Rule ChangesOne-year reprieve for variable refrigerant flow systems under the AIM Act phasedown
May 26th, 2026: Rule published in Federal RegisterNew here? Follow stories to track developments over time. Create a free account to get updates when stories you care about change.
Overview
The Environmental Protection Agency gave HVAC contractors an extra year on Tuesday to install commercial air-conditioning equipment that uses older, higher-warming refrigerants. The final rule covers variable refrigerant flow systems manufactured or imported before January 1, 2026, and pushes the installation cutoff out to January 1, 2027.
The broader HFC phasedown stays in place. The AIM Act still requires an 85% national cut by 2036. The change targets one complaint: manufacturers said the deadline would strand complex multi-zone HVAC systems already built around older refrigerants.
Why it matters
Commercial HVAC projects scheduled for late 2026 can now use refrigerant equipment already on order instead of scrapping it for redesigned lower-GWP units.
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People Involved
Organizations Involved
Federal agency that administers U.S. environmental laws, including the AIM Act's HFC phasedown.
Trade group representing more than 300 manufacturers of HVAC, water heating, and refrigeration equipment.
Japan-based HVAC manufacturer and the largest global producer of variable refrigerant flow systems.
Timeline
December 2020 May 2026
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Rule published in Federal Register
Latest RegulationEPA publishes the final rule, making the one-year VRF installation extension effective. Projects with building permits issued before October 5, 2023, get until January 1, 2028.
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Zeldin signs final VRF extension rule
RegulationEPA Administrator Lee Zeldin signs the final rule extending VRF installation to January 1, 2027 for equipment made or imported before January 1, 2026.
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Industry submits comments seeking longer extensions
Public CommentAHRI, ACCA, Daikin, and the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy file comments arguing the January 2026 VRF cutoff would strand legally manufactured equipment and disrupt projects already designed around higher-GWP systems.
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EPA opens reconsideration of technology transitions rules
RegulationEPA proposes reopening multiple installation deadlines set under the Biden-era technology transitions program, signaling willingness to push back compliance dates.
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Trump returns to office
PoliticalTrump begins his second term. Lee Zeldin is confirmed weeks later as EPA Administrator and begins reviewing Biden-era climate rules.
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Biden EPA publishes VRF rule
RegulationAdministrator Michael Regan finalizes a rule banning installation of new variable refrigerant flow systems using HFCs above 700 GWP starting January 1, 2026.
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First technology transitions rule finalized
RegulationEPA finalizes the first restrictions under the AIM Act's technology transitions program, banning use of high-GWP HFCs in new equipment across most refrigeration and air-conditioning subsectors.
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Trump signs AIM Act into law
LegislationPresident Trump signs the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act as part of an end-of-year omnibus package. The law directs EPA to phase down HFC production and consumption by 85% from 2011-2013 baselines by 2036.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
Montreal Protocol CFC phaseout (1987-2010)
196 countries agreed in Montreal to phase out chlorofluorocarbons, which destroyed atmospheric ozone. Developed countries banned new CFC production by 1996. The full phaseout for service refrigerants finished in 2010.
Refrigerant manufacturers shifted production first to HCFCs, then to HFCs over two decades. The ozone hole stopped growing.
The HFC replacements turned out to be powerful greenhouse gases. The Kigali Amendment added HFCs to Montreal in 2016, setting up the current phasedown.
Today's AIM Act phasedown is the third major refrigerant transition in 40 years. Each one has produced the same fight between regulators and industry over stranded equipment and installation cutoffs.
R-22 refrigerant phaseout (2010-2020)
EPA banned production and import of new equipment using R-22, an HCFC, starting in 2010, then ended R-22 production entirely in 2020. Existing systems could still be serviced with recycled refrigerant.
Servicing costs spiked. Recycled R-22 prices rose from about $5 per pound in 2010 to over $100 by 2018.
Most homeowners replaced rather than serviced old units. The industry adopted R-410A, which is itself now being phased down under the current AIM Act rules.
The R-22 transition shows the pattern in practice: manufacturing stops, then installation stops, then service prices rise. VRF contractors are watching the same curve approach R-410A.
Mexichem Fluor v. EPA (2017)
The D.C. Circuit struck down EPA's 2015 SNAP Rule 20, which would have phased down HFCs under the Clean Air Act. The court ruled EPA lacked statutory authority to require HFC substitutes when companies had already moved off ozone-depleting refrigerants.
EPA's only HFC regulatory tool was gone. Industry had already invested in lower-GWP alternatives in anticipation of the rule.
The decision forced Congress to act. The AIM Act in 2020 gave EPA explicit statutory authority over HFCs, the same authority underlying today's VRF rule.
The current rule rests on the statute Congress wrote after Mexichem. Any court challenge to the extension will run into the same authority question that drove the AIM Act's passage.
