New, Eco-Friendly 2025 Low GWP Compliant Refrigerant
You can count on Lennox to make decisions that are good for dealers, good for homeowners and good for the environment. That’s why we’ve updated our entire product lineup to use 2025 Compliant Refrigerant R-454B. With a 78% lower global warming potential (GWP) than previous refrigerants, it complies with updated EPA regulations and is formulated to provide excellent, reliable performance for years to come.
Lennox is here to provide you support and resources to make these 2025 compliant systems easy to sell, install and service. Check out our latest resources and training:
Why New EPA Refrigerant Regulations?
In 2020, as part of a global agreement to reduce greenhouse gasses, the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act gave the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority to regulate hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and begin the phase down of refrigerants with high HFCs by 2036.
At that time, the current HVAC industry refrigerant, R-410A, was deemed a contributor to global warming and the EPA mandated that manufacturers switch to a refrigerant with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 700 or less by January 1, 2025.
Why R-454B?
When selecting our new refrigerant, Lennox considered ease of installation, service, safety, performance, environmental impact and more. We chose our 2025 Compliant Refrigerant for a number of reasons:
The GWP is 78% lower than previous refrigerants and has zero ozone depletion potential.
Lennox engineers worked to maximize equipment performance and efficiency with this refrigerant while minimizing changes to installation requirements.
Our testing shows it remains more consistent in long-line sets for more reliable performance.
The GWP is 78% lower than previous refrigerants and has zero ozone depletion potential.
Lennox engineers worked to maximize equipment performance and efficiency with this refrigerant while minimizing changes to installation requirements.
Our testing shows it remains more consistent in long-line sets for more reliable performance.
Transitioning to Low GWP Refrigerants
What Does Low GWP Mean?
GWP is a way to measure the gases going into the atmosphere and their effect on our planet’s temperature. Low GWP indicates a safer gas for the environment. Lennox’ 2025 Compliant Refrigerant choice has 78% lower GWP than the previous version.
What makes refrigerants have low GWP?
Refrigerants with low GWP are designed to minimize impact on the environment in terms of global warming and climate change. Several factors contribute to refrigerants having low GWP:
Ozone-Depleting Free: Compared to refrigerants with high levels of HFCs, low GWP refrigerants are non-ozone depleting and have lower global warming potential.
Chemical Composition: Low GWP refrigerants are composed of elements and compounds that have minimal greenhouse gas effects, such as hydrogen, carbon, and fluorine. Refrigerants with high GWP often contain chlorine.
Short Atmospheric Lifetime: Refrigerants with shorter atmospheric lifetimes tend to have a lower GWP level as they don’t stay in the atmosphere for extended periods, reducing the overall impact on global warming.
What Does the HFC Refrigerant Phaseout Mean for You and Your Business?
Stay Ahead of Regulation Changes with Support from Lennox
Homeowners will look to you for guidance on how this change will impact product availability, serviceability and their home’s environmental footprint. As always, whenever new regulations go into effect, Lennox is here to provide you support, training, and educational resources that make it easy to sell, install, and service the new equipment.
Lennox Helps Make the Transition Easy
Rest assured, this transition won’t create a heavy burden for installers and technicians. Systems will continue to match up as before. Service practices will remain the same. And because our 2025 Compliant Refrigerant has similar properties to the current R-410A refrigerant, there will be limited changes to installation requirements.
Prepare Now with the Lennox Reclaim Program
After the transition, we will continue to offer R-410A repair coils, parts and R-410A refrigerant for servicing units. To help you secure a supply and ensure continuity of service, Lennox has teamed up with Hudson Technologies for the Lennox Reclaim Program, a simple, hassle-free solution that pays you for recovered R-22 and R-410A refrigerant.
FAQs
What refrigerant will replace R-410A in 2025?
Lennox has chosen to replace R-410A, with our 2025 Compliant Refrigerant, R-454B. It has 78% lower GWP than previous refrigerants, has shown to be more consistent in long-line sets during testing, and will benefit equipment performance with minimum changes to installation requirements.
What are the current regulations for low GWP refrigerants?
The last refrigerant transition phased out refrigerants with high ozone depletion potential (ODP), such as R-22. The current HVAC industry refrigerant, R-410A, does not contribute to ozone layer depletion but it does have significant Global Warming Potential (GWP) as high as 2088. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated that manufacturers switch to a refrigerant with a GWP of 700 or less by January 1, 2025.
What are the new 2024 EPA refrigerant regulations?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed regulations aimed at banning the use of many hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in HVAC systems. Beginning in 2024, the phase down of HFCs are required to be at 40% below baseline, a significant decrease in the number of available production and consumption allowances compared to previous years.
What refrigerant is being phased out in 2024?
The HFCs and HFC-blend refrigerants being phased out are as follows:
R-404A
R-134A
R-410A
R-407C used to replace R-22.
What are the low GWP refrigerants for HVAC?
In response to the new regulations, low-GWP refrigerants have been created to have similar but better efficiencies and capacities than the refrigerants they are intended to replace. These include R-32 and R-454B.
What are A2L refrigerants?
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) created a subgroup of refrigerants called A2L. "A" refers to non-toxic, "2" refers to the flammability level, and "L" refers to the low burning velocity. You can see this new subgroup compared to other refrigerant classifications in the referenced chart.
Increasing Flammability
Higher Flammability
A3
B3
Flammable
A2
B2
Lower Flammability
A2L
B2L
No Flame Propagation
A1
B1
Lower Toxicity
Higher Toxicity
Increasing Toxicity