New Legislation Would Spur Replacement of CFC Chillers
Manufacturers of chillers used for comfort cooling in buildings replaced or converted 2,585 units that use CFC refrigerants during 2003, leaving an estimated 36,200 chillers still using CFCs which were banned from production in the United States at the end of 1995 due to concerns about CFCs eroding the Earth's protective ozone layer.
The annual survey of chiller manufacturers by the ARI showed that building owners in the United States, as of January 1, 2004, had replaced or converted 43,774 units or 55% of the original 80,000 CFC chillers. New, non-CFC chillers reduce maintenance costs, use less electricity and can typically pay back the cost of replacing an old CFC chiller in five years or less, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).