The new legislation also eliminates ambiguity regarding inventory, with a clear mandate that stockpiled refrigerants which do not meet these standards are now deemed non-compliant regardless of their purchase date. Non-compliance carries significant civil and criminal penalties.

A-Gas ensures every PENGUIN Certified Reclaimed Refrigerant is accompanied by required documentation, notably a Certificate of Analysis, so distributors and contractors can maintain transparent records and confidently meet regulatory demands. Each cylinder is clearly labeled for traceability, reinforcing assurances that only approved refrigerants are sold and used in California.

PENGUIN Certified Reclaimed Refrigerants allow partners and customers to fulfill both
regulatory and environmental commitments without disruption.

For additional information, visit www.agas.com/us.

As part of the 90.1 Standing Standard Project Committee’s (SSPC) 2028 and 2031 six-year work plan, Standard 90.1 will maintain its primary focus on energy efficiency and energy cost justified requirements consistent with its purpose since the 1970s. This direction reflects strong industry stakeholder feedback and reinforces the standard’s historical role as a widely adopted and enforceable benchmark for commercial building energy performance.

In response to growing interest from states, cities and large corporations seeking pathways to lower operational emissions, the committee will also develop a separate, aligned document. The optional framework will provide a template for establishing commercial building requirements and procedures aimed at reducing operational emissions, including opportunities to account for the availability of renewable energy.

To support this direction, the committee plans to move the optional Addenda M and N, introduced in the 2025 edition of Standard 90.1, as operational carbon-focused appendices, from the core standard and transition those concepts into a separate, dedicated publication. This new publication will focus specifically on operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction and provide a blueprint for jurisdictions and other users interested in developing operational carbon reduction standards and codes.

“Standard 90.1 has helped define energy-efficient commercial building design for more than 50 years, and this direction strengthens the foundation that has made it one of the world’s most influential building energy standards,” said 2026-27 ASHRAE President Sarah E. Maston, P.E., BCxP, LEED AP BD+C. “At the same time, the building industry is evolving, and our tools must evolve with it. By creating a dedicated pathway for operational emissions reduction, ASHRAE can respond to emerging market needs without losing sight of the proven energy efficiency principles at the heart of Standard 90.1. It’s about giving our industry the right playbook for the challenge at hand and positioning our members and stakeholders to lead what comes next.”

The updated framework will:

• Reaffirm Standard 90.1 as the baseline energy efficiency standard grounded in cost justified energy and performance requirements.
• Transition operational carbon-focused provisions, including Addenda M and N, into a new standalone publication.
• Provide clearer pathways for adoption by jurisdictions, regulators, and industry professionals while responding to the needs of states, cities and other users.
• Enhance usability, flexibility and responsiveness to market demands, including through digital tools and improved and expanded compliance approaches.  

The separate publication will build on prior work to provide an optional, cost-justified framework for advancing operational GHG emissions reductions.

The restructuring of Standard 90.1 reflects input from regulators, designers, owners and other stakeholders seeking greater clarity in the purpose and application of ASHRAE’s flagship commercial building energy standard.

ASHRAE will continue to develop both documents through its consensus-based process, using economic justification with opportunities for public review and comment in accordance with ANSI procedures. Engagement will continue throughout the 2028 and 2031 development cycles, drawing on the expertise of the Standard 90.1 committee’s 153 members and consultants, as well as ASHRAE Technical Committees.

For updates on ASHRAE standards activities, including announcements, open quarterly meetings, public review drafts, calls for members and more, sign up for ASHRAE Standards Actions at ashrae.org/StandardsActions .

For more information on Standard 90.1, visit ashrae.org/standard901 .

LAST WORD

Roman Baugh is a commercial HVAC&R specialist with nearly 20 years of experience, 15 of those years as an expert in variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems. He built and operated his own contracting business and devoted two years to one of the leading VRF manufacturers as an analyst and contributor to product development, AI software development for remote monitoring, and compressor failure analysis with that brand’s R&D department. He worked directly with engineering teams in Japan, and created two internal training programs, one of which became public facing to the North American market.

Baugh is currently Director of Commercial HVAC at Kalos Services, Clermont, FL, and founder of VRF Tech LLC, an independent consulting practice serving clients across all major VRF brands. He co-hosts the “VRF Tech Talk” podcast and presented the “Troubleshooting Triangle” methodology at the 2026 AHR Expo.

As someone with that extensive amount of experience in the contractor, manufacturer, technician and training sides of the HVAC&R industry, Baugh is uniquely qualified to describe a functional glitch that affects the daily work, efficiency and reputations of independent VRF contractors. In an interview with RSES Journal, Baugh emphasized that he is brand agnostic and has no financial relationship with any VRF manufacturer.

Baugh said there is a service gap that forms when VRF manufacturers withhold VRF service information and specialized software from independent contractors—a barrier to service that has grown over the past eight years. Whether it is by design or possibly by the compounding effects of market consolidation, Baugh cannot determine. What he can speak about is this barrier’s impact on VRF field services provided by independent contractors.

Baugh’s observations and conclusions are firmly grounded in his nearly two decades of field experience across all major VRF brands, his two years on the inside of a leading original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and his ongoing independent consulting work, where he has seen how VRF support systems are managed and directed across different markets and ownership structures.

What Baugh describes is a pattern of decisions by OEMs rather than intentional actions that have resulted in a structural outcome he has witnessed during his service in multiple positions inside the industry. With that, Baugh’s field experience has given him first-hand insight into the consequences of those decisions.

“The information contractors need to do their jobs is being used as a tool, and in some cases, it functions as a weapon, regardless of whether or not that was the original design,” Baugh said. "There is no consistent path to the support that field technicians need. I don't know if that's by design. I just know how it currently works and how it doesn't—and we've been talking about this problem for almost eight years."

At the field level, technicians cannot gain access to service tools that speak the specific language for a specific piece of VRF equipment, “and if I don’t have that service tool, then I’m missing maybe 50% of the functionality of that unit,” Baugh explained.

“About a year-and-a half-ago, many manufacturers required you to go to specific training classes to gain access to their service tools or service program. A lot of that has been repealed and rolled back, but it’s still difficult to get the software for a lot of these [systems].”

Revenue protection could possibly be an incentive to this weak support structure. OEMs with service branches compete for the same maintenance contracts as independent contractors, and control of information access gives manufacturers a competitive market advantage. In other situations, when a contractor is unable to find support, their final option is to contact the manufacturer’s service office, and the equipment sale becomes the top of a funnel that results in a service contract.

Internal Memo Validates Requirements

Baugh's account of the difficulty of information access is supported by an internal policy memo, issued in April 2026 on manufacturer letterhead, which outlines revised contractor requirements for technical support access. The memo was distributed to internal teams but was not publicly communicated to the independent contractors it directly affected.

Among those requirements that were only communicated to internal sales reps and OEM employees, are: online manufacturer training modules for each equipment family prior to gaining access to a technical support hotline, and support is limited to the product lines for which training has been completed. Technicians with no verified training status in the OEM’s files are told to contact their local manufacturer service office until they complete the coursework. Initial in-person training is good for one year of access, and three years upon completion of optional in-person training. 

That same manufacturer is also one of Baugh’s maintenance contract competitors. Their structure now requires him to buy equipment from a competitor who operates an HVAC&R distributorship. This places Baugh and other independent contractors at a disadvantage regarding access to essential service information and technical support.

“What would it look like if the contractor in the field was treated as the asset they actually are?”

Baugh said the support vacuum is not endemic across all manufacturers, and one of those is very accommodating to technicians.

“But another leading brand will tell you to go through their local sales channel, which might transfer your call to tech support, or they might not respond at all. The final recourse is going to a Facebook group for help, which is not always guaranteed. And, the fact that a professional technician's last reliable option for manufacturer support is an informal online community is not a criticism of those communities. It is a measurement of how far official support channels have failed,” Baugh said.

RSES Journal contacted two VRF manufacturers for insight into their contractor support systems. One provided information on its basic entry point for new contractor customers but did not respond when asked to describe ongoing requirements that follow initial training, who determines continued contractor authorization and how access to information changes if those annual requirements are not met.  A second manufacturer did not reply.

Three Misalignments

Baugh believes there to be “Three Misalignments” that prevent access to information by independent contractors.

1. Structure—The independent contractor performing at the highest level in your market has no formal standing in your system. They are not unknown. Your support team has their call history. Your warranty system has their commissioning records. Your regional sales team relies on them to protect client relationships in markets your service office cannot consistently reach. They exist in your data everywhere except where it matters—in a defined category that gives them a path to the support they need to do the job they are already doing.
   
   
2. Information—Quality issues, software corrections, and known factory defects are documented internally and distributed selectively. The contractor standing in front of a unit with a known factory defect has no way to know the problem has already been identified. When the path to that information is gated behind a credential requirement, the contractor absorbs the cost of a problem the manufacturer already solved. They replace parts that do not need replacing. They damage a client relationship. The manufacturer loses a field advocate over a disclosure policy that costs nothing to change. That is not a training problem. That is a market integrity problem.
   
   
3. Access—Training requirements and support access are legitimate tools for quality control. They become something else when the training is created and priced by the same entity that controls the access, when the policy takes effect without notice to the field, and when the contractor who has been performing at a high level for years is turned away while the problem on the roof remains unsolved.

Baugh said VRF manufacturers believe they are justified in withholding information from independent contractors they consider to be “unknown,” even though their support teams have their call history, and their warranty system contains their commissioning records. Their regional sales teams rely on these contractors to protect client relationships in markets that their own service offices cannot consistently reach.

“They exist in your data everywhere except where it matters—in a defined category that gives them a path to the support they need to do the job they are already doing,” he said.

The Solution is in The Framework

Baugh’s solution—“The Field Alignment Framework”—is based on performance, not credentials. It creates a defined category between an unknown contractor and a manufacturer-employed technician. It does not lower the service standard, rather, it creates a path for contractors already meeting the standard to be formally supported and held accountable within a structure that benefits everyone in it.

Entry into The Framework will be based on active manufacturer sales sponsorship, demonstrated field performance on manufacturers’ equipment and no pattern of repeated escalation failures or misuse. Verification of qualified independent contractors will be based on written endorsements from regional sales representatives or managers, demonstrated field performance on manufacturer equipment and no patterns of escalation failures or misuse by service technicians.

Technicians who call in and have no commissioning records on file with an OEM would be denied support.

To hold technicians accountable, annual renewals are required. Technician failure to follow escalation protocol will result in suspension or removal from the program.

Baugh’s four-step implementation plan would:

1. Include a grace period for contractors currently supporting manufacturers’ equipment. This would be communicated directly to the contractor base—not through an internal memo or a chain of sales reps. This single action demonstrates responsiveness and costs nothing.
2. Build up markets where OEM support is weakest, and engage regional sales leaders to identify and sponsor qualified candidates.
3. Establish access pathways and distribute product bulletins more effectively to enrolled pilot program contractors; and begin performance tracking against defined metrics.
4. Review pilot data and refine criteria based on what the field data actually shows related to contractor/technician service records. Those criteria would be shared through the existing regional sales infrastructure.
   
   

Baugh’s plan is extremely practical and of course would require time to implement. But by using it, Baugh hopes to turn back the clock on problems that developed over eight years’ time.

“The contractors who built their businesses in this market did not build them to fight a manufacturer. They built them to solve problems, and to show up when no one else would,” Baugh said, and he restated that the misalignment was not intentional.

“The misalignment grew slowly as markets consolidated, as the support infrastructure became centralized, and as the distance between policy decisions and field reality widened year by year. The contractors who have built careers around this equipment are not asking to be handed anything,” Baugh asserted. ”They are asking to be recognized for what they already are: the most cost-effective, field-tested service infrastructure a manufacturer could ever deploy, and the only one that shows up on a Sunday when the building manager is panicking. The question worth asking is not whether independent contractors deserve access. The question is what it costs the industry every single day they don't have it."

Baugh’s key question is, “What would it look like if the contractor in the field was treated as the asset they actually are?”

Contractors seeking to follow the ongoing conversation around VRF service access, or engage with the Field Alignment Framework directly, can connect with Baugh at  vrftechtraining.com.

Sarah E. Maston, P.E., BCxP, LEED AP will serve as the 2026-27 Society president. In her inaugural presidential address, Maston introduced the theme for the 2026-27 Society Year, “Changing the Game: Retrofitting for Resilience.” The theme focuses on how the building industry can work together develop a winning “game plan” to improve the efficiency, performance and resilience of existing buildings in the face of growing climate and infrastructure challenges.

“ASHRAE has been providing leadership and guidance in energy efficiency, indoor air quality and carbon emissions reduction,” said Maston.  “So, where do we go from here?

"This year, ASHRAE will focus on three key areas:

• Increase awareness of the importance of building codes, and their role in resilience.
• The importance of cross-functional teams & creating a game plan to improve building operations, and
• Gamification of education, so we can continue to attract the brightest minds to tackle the dilemmas we face.

"There is no one-size-fits-all solution or game plan for retrofitting buildings. Every building has its own constraints. That’s why teamwork is absolutely essential.”

Maston is the Geographic Discipline Leader for Commissioning & Energy Services in New England for Colliers Project Leader.

Elected officers who will serve one-year terms are as follows:

• President-Elect: Ashish Rakheja, B.E., M.Tech, Fellow ASHRAE is Director/Chief Operating Officer at AEON, Uttar Pradesh, India.

• Treasurer: Wade H. Conlan, P.E., BCxP, Fellow ASHRAE, CxA, LEED AP BD+C is Assistant Vice President/Commissioning & Energy Discipline Manager at Hanson Professional Services, Maitland, Fla.

ASHRAE introduced its newest Vice Presidents who will serve a term of 2 years (Society Years 2026–2027 and 2027–2028):

• Vice President: Mahroo Eftekhari, C.Eng. CDPhil, Fellow ASHRAE, FCIBSE, MInstR, SFHEA is a Professor, Building Services Engineering at Loughborough University, Loughborough, England.

• Vice President: Blake E. Ellis, P.E., CDP, Fellow ASHRAE, MCIBSE, LEED AP is Principal at Burns & McDonnell, Overland Park, Kans.

ASHRAE introduced its newest Directors and Regional Chairs who will serve three-year terms from 2026–2029:

• Region VII Director and Regional Chair: Caroline Kelty, P.E., LEED AP is a Project Manager & Mechanical Engineer at CMTA, Lexington, Ky.
• Region VIII Director and Regional Chair: Keith Reihl, P.E., HBDP, CEM is Principal Engineer at Southland, Houston, Texas.
• Region IX Director and Regional Chair: Daniel C. Russell, P.E., HFDP is a Application Engineer, at Norbryhn Equipment Co., Nampa, Idaho.
• Region X Director and Regional Chair: Colin E. Laisure-Pool, P.E. is an Account Executive at MPSW, Inc., Phoenix, Ariz.
• Region XIV Director and Regional Chair: Eduardo Maldonado, Life Member ASHRAE is a Professor, Faculty of Engineering of The University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.

ASHRAE also introduced its newest Directors-at-Large (DALs):

• Martin Dieryckx is General Manager, Environment Research Center at Daikin Europe EV, Oostende, Belgium.
• Krishnan Gowri, Ph.D., BEMP, Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, LEED AP a Senior Engineering Fellow at Energy Solutions, Bothell, Wash.
• Filza H. Walters, Fellow ASHRAE, FESD is Senior Associate, Director of Mechanical Engineering at Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., Westland, Mich.

A global survey entering the email boxes of trade industry publications today finds half of all skilled workers say jobs get sent back for rework -- that's the old news that many business owners seem forced to accept. The new news is that they hope artificial intelligence programs can reduce callbacks, and it's the top problem they’d want AI to fix on the job.

The survey by Bourne AI -- "How AI Closes the Guidance Gap in Skilled Trades," a global survey of 1,000 skilled trade workers across the U.S. and Europe -- found that nearly half of skilled-trade workers say jobs in their field get sent back for a callback or rework at least sometimes, and fixing mistakes and callbacks is the number one on-the-job use case they’d like AI to solve.

Seventy-two percent of skilled trades respondents said they believe an AI guided-task app would cut the time they lose looking things up on the job, and 66% say AI would make them more effective as they complete their job tasks.

"This survey shows where AI can help tradespeople most on the job, and reducing mistakes and callbacks comes out at the very top," said Dave Dickson, Founder of Bourne AI. "Workers told us the bottleneck is getting a reliable answer at the moment they're stuck. When AI closes that guidance gap, the return is concrete and measurable: fewer jobs come back for rework, and newer workers reach full productivity faster."

The continuing labor shortage most amplifies the need to make the most of the time employees have. Across construction, manufacturing and other skilled industries, experienced employees are retiring faster than they can be replaced. The U.S. Department of Education estimates only two new entrants for every five workers who retire¹, with roughly 2.1 million skilled-trade jobs going unfilled by 2030.²

As seasoned tradespeople leave, (and, we believe, the younger ones jump ship to join a competitor) their know-how walks out the door, onto a thinner, greener workforce where 47% of new hires take 7+ months to reach full productivity, according to the Bourne AI survey. That thinner bench is exactly where the survey finds the daily friction: too much
work comes back as rework because the answers needed to get it right the first time take too long to track down.

Interrupting a coworker
A very interesting revelation is that, according to the data, the #1 way tradespeople get unstuck on a difficult task is still asking a colleague or supervisor (60.5%), a human bottleneck that interrupts two people at once. And it isn't quick: 51% of lookups take 16 minutes or more, and a quarter take 30 minutes or more. When a fast answer isn't available, 28% proceed on best judgment and accept the rework risk, and that guesswork can often be where a callback begins.

Nearly half see their work come back for rework — and they'd hand AI the fix

The survey found 49% of skilled-trade workers say jobs in their field need a callback or rework at least sometimes, and workers ranked reducing mistakes and callbacks as the #1 AI use case, ahead of code/spec lookups, documentation, and new-hire training.

Reducing callbacks drives immediate ROI because they are the easiest cost to put a number on. Industry benchmarks put a single HVAC callback at roughly $650³ and U.S. construction rework at about 5% of project cost, more than $31 billion a year⁴. Every 16-minute lookup, meanwhile, is paid time a short-staffed crew can't bill back.

Even with employer tools, many still look elsewhere
Most employers already give crews some digital tools, just not AI-grade ones. Employees run
scheduling apps, employer PDFs and the occasional one-off ChatGPT search, but most workplaces sit in a digitally-established-but-not-AI-central middle rather than at the leading edge. The gap shows up in behavior: 60% of workers still look elsewhere for guidance at least sometimes after using the tools their employer provides.

The trades are ready — and they expect it soon
If in-the-field employer tools fall short, the appetite for better ones does not. Seventy-two percent of workers agree an AI guided-task app would cut the time they lose looking things up, and 66% say it would make them more effective. Some aren't waiting for employer tools at all — about a third have experimented with a consumer LLM on the job.

• 59% expect their employer to invest in AI guidance within two years, and the preferred surface is firmly smartphone-first: 71% would use an AI job-guide on the phone already in their pocket.

• Smart glasses rank last among the devices workers would use today, but as hands-free use cases mature, Bourne AI expects them to become a natural surface for this kind of on-the-job guidance.
  

Turning the guidance gap into fewer callbacks and faster jobs
In the report released today, Bourne AI maps where the guidance gap turns into rework and lost time, and what closing it is worth. Beyond these key findings, the full report breaks the data out by trade and by geography.

Building Services (HVAC, plumbing, electrical and facilities) is the most AI-ready large segment, with 81% saying AI would save lookup time and 42% already using consumer AI on the job. When looking at geography, the sharpest divide is in how much the problem hurts: European respondents report more rework and longer lookups than their US counterparts, even as both hold broadly similar
views on AI.

The "Fewer Callbacks, Faster Jobs" study surveyed 1,000 skilled-trade workers across the United States and Europe (UK, Germany, France) between May 28 and June 14, 2026, with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points. The complete report is available at
https://bournelabs.ai/research/ai-guidance-gap-trades.

Sources: Survey figures are from the Bourne AI study (1,000 respondents, June 2026). The labor-market and cost benchmarks
used for context are external:
1- U.S. Department of Education estimate, reported in JLL, "Critical skilled trades shortage threatens $1T in economic losses,"
April 21, 2026. https://www.jll.com/en-us/newsroom/critical-skilled-trades-shortage-threatens-economic-losses
2- JLL skilled-trades talent research, "Critical skilled trades shortage threatens $1T in economic losses," April 21, 2026.
https://www.jll.com/en-us/newsroom/critical-skilled-trades-shortage-threatens-economic-losses
3- ACCA, "The True Cost of Callbacks and How to Stop the Bleeding."
https://hvac-blog.acca.org/the-true-cost-of-callbacks-and-how-to-stop-the-bleeding/
4- Construction rework as ~5% of project cost: Construction Industry Institute, via OpenSpace, "The real cost of rework in
construction" (https://www.openspace.ai/blog/cost-of-rework-in-construction/). $31 billion+ annual US figure: FMI/PlanGrid (2018),
via PlanRadar (https://www.planradar.com/us/cost-of-rework-construction/).

World Refrigeration Day is an international awareness campaign that raises the profile of the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pump industry and highlights the essential role cooling technologies play in supporting health, food security, economic development and quality of life worldwide.

The 2026 theme recognizes that "intelligence" in cooling extends beyond technology alone. From artificial intelligence and advanced controls to data-driven system optimization and the expertise of engineers, technicians and operators, intelligent cooling solutions are helping address some of today's most pressing energy, environmental and resilience challenges.

"Intelligence in cooling goes beyond algorithms and automation, it is about applying knowledge, innovation and technology to create healthier, more sustainable environments," said 2025–26 ASHRAE President Bill McQuade, P.E., CDP, Fellow ASHRAE, LEED AP. "This year's World Refrigeration Day theme highlights how AI, digitalization and human expertise are working together to create smarter, more sustainable cooling solutions. ASHRAE is proud to support the professionals and technologies that are advancing the future of refrigeration around the world."

To mark World Refrigeration Day, ASHRAE is encouraging industry professionals to explore the latest refrigeration guidance and technical resources, including the 2026 ASHRAE Handbook—Refrigeration (I-P) and 2026 ASHRAE Handbook—Refrigeration (SI), now available for preorder.

ASHRAE also continues to support global refrigeration education and capacity-building efforts through the ASHRAE-UNEP Portal, which provides access to technical resources, training materials and guidance designed to help industry professionals advance sustainable cooling practices worldwide.

As part of its ongoing commitment to industry advancement, ASHRAE will spotlight emerging refrigeration technologies during the 2026 Annual Conference, June 27– July 1 in Austin, Texas.

Featured sessions include:

• Commercial Refrigeration: Paving the Way for Future-Proof, Low-GWP Refrigerants and System Redesigns to Meet Emerging Standards
• Application of Thermal Storage for Refrigerated Warehousing
• Integrated Experimental Study of Refrigeration System Optimization: An Industry–University Collaboration on Refrigerant and Airflow Design
• Cooling without Compressors: Emerging Caloric and Electrochemical Approaches

Registration for both in-person and virtual attendance is open now.

The acquisition is intended to assist Lennox in serving small and mid-size HVAC distributors by expanding access to differentiated equipment offerings while creating new opportunities to broaden Lennox's share in the North American HVAC market.

Heat Controller commands a broad product portfolio, product availability, a strong brand offering, and exceptional customer service, capabilities highly valued by distributor partners.

"Heat Controller and its Comfort-Aire and Century brands strengthen how we serve our distributor partners with flexibility and exceptional customer service," said Alok Maskara, Chief Executive Office of Lennox. "I am excited to welcome this team to Lennox. Together, we see meaningful opportunities to support our distributor partners."

"We are excited to join Lennox and begin the next chapter of Heat Controller's growth," said Philip Windham, Chief Executive Officer of Heat Controller. "Lennox's scale, operational strength, and focus on customer experience position us to expand our offering and continue delivering the flexibility, availability, and service our distributor partners depend on." The acquisition is expected to close later this year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals

The proclamation recognizes that recent changes to Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper created significant cost concerns for HVACR equipment across the country. Without adjustment, those policies risked increasing costs throughout the supply chain and placing additional pressure on contractors, distributors, homeowners, and businesses during peak cooling season. The updated policy provides meaningful relief for many residential HVAC systems and components that had been treated as steel or aluminum derivative products.

EXCERPT: "...the Secretary recommended that I modify the tariffs imposed on these products pursuant to Proclamation 9704, as amended, and Proclamation 9705, as amended.  In particular, the Secretary recommended that I expand the category of derivative products subject to the temporarily-reduced 15 percent ad valorem duty to include agricultural equipment and certain heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and components that are predominately for residential use, which are currently treated as aluminum or steel derivative products.  The Secretary also recommended that I temporarily modify the tariffs imposed on mobile industrial equipment and machinery to support the American businesses and factories that use these products."

“This is a welcome change for the HVACR industry by President Trump,” said Alex Ayers, HARDI’s Vice President of Government Affairs. “HARDI's initial analysis shows the adjustment will help consumers keep nearly $2.3 billion in their pockets by avoiding future price increases resulting from the initial tariff increase. For far too many Americans, an unexpected HVAC replacement reduces their spending power in the months that follow. HARDI estimates that these savings will support $2.9 billion in economic activity and preserve $1.7 billion in value added to GDP over the long run that would have been lost under the previous tariff regime, which will help the American economy to continue to grow," Ayers said.

HARDI has consistently emphasized that HVACR products are complex, highly engineered systems made from a mix of domestic and globally sourced components, and that tariff structures must reflect the realities of modern manufacturing and distribution. HARDI members and contractors had actively raised these concerns with policymakers in previous months, including during HARDI’s Congressional Fly-In and sending nearly 10,000 messages through the association’s grassroots advocacy platform to the Trump Administration and Congress.

“We appreciate the Administration recognizing that access to affordable heating and cooling is a matter of safety and economic stability for American families and businesses,” Ayers continued. “The new lower threshold for domestic metal content in the proclamation will also help many of the product categories not included in the new HVAC exemption.”

The proclamation is here; paste the link into browser: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/06/further-adjusting-the-tariff-regimes-for-imports-of-aluminum-steel-and-copper-into-the-united-states/

ASHRAE, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will host a hybrid in-person and virtual launch of the AI Data Center Energy Performance Framework - a first-of-its-kind initiative to help meet increasing energy demands of artificial intelligence  while strengthening grid reliability and accelerating the deployment of safe, resilient, and energy-efficient data centers.

The annual sales growth for the 12 months through April 2026 is an increase of 2.8%. 

“April is the first month of cooling season and this year began with above normal temps in more than half the country,” said Brian Loftus, Senior Market Analyst at HARDI.  “Our warmest region had sales growth near 20% for April while sales dipped by almost 5.5% in the region with below normal temps.” 

HARDI’s monthly distributor sales survey also calculates Days Sales Outstanding or DSO which is a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills.  The DSO for April 2026 was less than 38 days like the previous April.  “End market customers appear stable,” said Loftus.  “The April DSO has been steady the past couple of years and a bit quicker than April of 2022 through April of 2024.” 

“Distributor sales growth remains subdued along with flat existing home sales, a weak job market, and higher inflation,” said Loftus.  “We are rooting for a successful selling season to trim the inventory levels which will allow the sales-to-inventory ratio to get back to normal by football season.”

• Richard Isom (Air Tech Services), a A Florida-based contractor whose suit was filed on April 20, 2026, targeting seven major manufacturers.
• Precision Plumbing, Electrical, Heating & Cooling, Inc., a  A North Dakota contractor that filed an almost identical suit on April 21, 2026.
• Safford's Heating, Cooling, and Refrigeration: A New York-based contractor who filed a lawsuit on April 22, 2026.
• Husky Heating & Cooling, an Arkansas contractor that filed its lawsuit on May 11, 2026.
• Two additional unidentified contractors have filed federal complaints on behalf of direct purchasers. 

The ball got rolling with Berg v. Bosch et al -- which was filed on March 20, 2026.

It is expected that these cases will require up to three years before a ruling is issued.

This final rule addresses petitions for reconsideration and other requests from companies and trade associations across a number of subsectors, including refrigerated transport – intermodal containers, industrial process refrigeration and chillers used in semiconductor manufacturing, retail food refrigeration systems for remote condensing units and supermarkets, cold storage warehouses, certain refrigerated laboratory equipment, and residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pump systems. 

This final rule also allows the inventory of residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pump equipment that was manufactured in the United States or imported into the United States before January 1, 2025, to continue to be installed up until certain dates listed below. 

This final rule is effective 60 days following date of publication in the Federal Register.

Addressing Consumer Concerns

The EPA's decision is based on economics and realities of the HVAC&R industry's manufacturing and supply channel, as it contends ,"The AIM Act is inherently inflationary because it phases down the production and consumption of HFCs, which increases the consumer prices of goods and services that rely upon or use HFCs for refrigeration or other purposes. This final rule addresses where the AIM Act was forcing more expensive technology onto consumers (through the Technology Transitions provisions). This reconsideration ensures that the EPA meets our statutory obligations under the AIM Act while ensuring that the Agency keeps the cost of living as low as legally possible for all Americans."

The decision also serves as a reprieve for manufacturers, importers and distributors of residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pump equipment. After publication of the 2023 Final Rule, those groups informed the EPA that the compliance date for the restriction on installation will result in substantial stranded inventory in that subsector for residential new construction, including both single-family and multi-family dwellings, where builders order heating and cooling equipment well in advance of knowing the exact date of installation. 

Here are the New Deadlines

The final rule:

1. Amends the intermodal refrigerated transport provisions at 40 CFR 84.54(a)(6) and 84.54(c)(7) to: adjust the lower bound temperature exclusion threshold of -50 °C to -35 °C, and change the location where that temperature is measured.

2. Amends the compliance date for certain chillers used for industrial process refrigeration (IPR) and certain IPR equipment used to manufacture semiconductors from January 1, 2026, and January 1, 2028, as applicable, to January 1, 2030.

3. Amends the global warming potential (GWP) limit for retail food remote condensing units at 40 CFR 84.54(c)(11) from 150 or 300, as applicable, to 1,400 until January 1, 2032, and either 150 or 300, depending on charge size or whether it is part of the high temperature side of a cascade system, starting January 1, 2032.

4. Amends the limit for supermarket systems at 40 CFR 84.54(c)(12) from 150 or 300, as applicable, to 1,400 until January 1, 2032, and either 150 or 300, depending on charge size or whether it is part of the high temperature side of a cascade system, starting January 1, 2032. 

5. Amends 40 CFR 84.54(e)(2) to allow supermarket systems to increase system cooling capacity up to 15 percent from zero percent compared to original installed capacity without this being considered the installation of a new system.

6. Amends the limit for cold storage warehouses at 40 CFR 84.54(c)(9) from 150 or 300, as applicable, to 700 until January 1, 2032, and either 150 or 300, depending on charge size or whether it is part of the high temperature side of a cascade system, starting January 1, 2032.

7. Amends the compliance date for refrigerated laboratory centrifuges and laboratory shakers from January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2028.

8. Removes the installation deadline for systems in the residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pumps (AC/HP) subsector, where all specified components of such systems were domestically manufactured or imported before January 1, 2025.

FIND THE TEXT OF THIS FINAL RULE HERE: 

https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2026-05/12166-02-oar_ttrr_pre-pub-version.pdf

NOTE from EPA: EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin, signed the final rule and EPA is submitting it for publication in the Federal Register (FR). While we have taken steps to ensure the accuracy of this Internet version of the rule, it is not the official version of the rule for purposes of public comment. Please refer to the official version in a forthcoming FR publication, which will appear on the Government Printing Office's website (https://www.govinfo.gov ) and on Regulations.gov (http://www.regulations.gov ) in Docket Number EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0005.  

By Dan Glucksman, Senior Director of Policy, ISEA (International Safety Equipment Association)

Respiratory protection is a routine part of work across the HVACR industry, particularly when technicians encounter refrigerants, welding fumes, mold remediation, insulation particles, chemical cleaners, smoke damage, or other airborne contaminants. But behind every approved respirator used in the field is a federal certification system now operating under growing strain.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) certifies respirators used by more than 50 million American workers across industries. Through its National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, the agency tests and approves respiratory protective equipment before it reaches the marketplace.

Recently, the system experienced disruptions after staffing reductions affected certification processing timelines. Although personnel were later reinstated and operations stabilized, the situation exposed how quickly delays can occur when resources fail to keep pace with demand.

For the HVACR industry, that matters.

Manufacturers rely on timely respirator approvals to introduce new products and maintain compliance standards. Contractors and distributors depend on steady product availability. Technicians depend on certified respiratory protection to safely perform work in environments where airborne hazards are present.

When certification timelines slow down, the ripple effects can extend throughout the supply chain. Product launches may be delayed, inventory availability can tighten, and access to updated respiratory protection technology may slow. In industries where safety compliance and jobsite readiness matter, even short-term disruptions can create operational challenges.

There is also concern about market oversight. During the COVID-19 pandemic, NIOSH played a significant role in identifying counterfeit and non-compliant respirators that entered the U.S. market. Thousands of fraudulent products were ultimately flagged and removed from circulation. Industry experts say maintaining that oversight remains essential as counterfeit safety equipment continues to be a concern globally.

Funding for NIOSH has remained relatively flat in recent years despite rising operational costs tied to staffing, laboratory testing, and certification workloads. As demand for respiratory protection continues across healthcare, construction, manufacturing, emergency response, and skilled trades, questions remain about whether the Federal government will provide enough capacity to maintain consistent turnaround times long term.

For HVACR professionals, expressing support for NIOSH to your various professional organizations could bring meaningful change to this small agency. . Respiratory protection standards only work when the certification infrastructure behind them remains stable, responsive, and adequately supported.

As the industry continues to emphasize technician safety, workforce development, and regulatory compliance, maintaining a dependable respirator certification system will remain an important part of protecting both workers and the broader HVACR supply chain.

THIS COMMENTARY IS IN RESPONSE TO President Trump's proposed 2027 budget, which seeks to reduce funding for NIOSH — the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health — by 75%, from $366.8 million to $92.2 million, and eliminating the agency's core research programs wholesale. Gone: the Education and Research Centers, the National Occupational Research Agenda, and Total Worker Health. What remains would be folded into a newly restructured federal entity. - ed.

In a nationally-circulated press release, NIOSH sources explain NIOSH is the only federal agency that certifies respirators for firefighters, miners, and millions of industrial workers. If a respirator doesn't carry NIOSH approval, it cannot legally be sold for use in hazardous environments. The budget also cuts the Personal Protective Technology program — the one that funds this certification work — by an additional $7 million.

NIOSH recently reinstated specialized certification staff after prior staffing reductions disrupted operations and exposed how little slack exists in the system. Appropriators are now being asked to ratify cuts that would push a system still recovering from recent instability back to — or beyond — the breaking point.

The Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) would also face an approximate $47 million reduction in funding. 

Representatives from 64 safety-dependent organizations sent a letter to the US Congress pleading for funding to remain at 2026 levels. 

TO READ THAT LETTER, paste the link below into a browser:

file:///X:/Publications/Journal/0626%20SUMMER/TO%20TERRY/2026_03_20_FY27-Occupational-Safety-and-Health-Appropriations-Coalition-Letter-FINAL.pdf

Prior to the injunction ruling, a new statewide survey commissioned by the Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) found strong public concern that the regulations could increase grocery prices, disrupt refrigeration repairs, and strain food supply operations throughout the state.

According to the survey, 71% of New York homeowners believe refrigerant regulations will increase costs for grocery stores and food retailers. Additionally, 87% said they would be concerned about higher food prices if refrigerant shortages or service delays disrupted grocery store operations.

The survey also found broad support for reconsidering regulations if they create affordability or supply chain concerns:

• 82% said regulations should be adjusted or delayed if they risk increasing food costs or causing supply disruptions.
• 65% believe refrigeration regulations could make repairs harder or contribute to store closures.
• 86% said reliable access to refrigerants for equipment repair and maintenance is important for grocery stores and food suppliers.

“These survey results confirm that consumers are worried about policies that disrupt refrigeration access and their consequences on grocery expenses,” said Alex Ayers, HARDI’s Vice President of Government Affairs. “The court’s decision is a crucial opportunity for policymakers to fully evaluate the economic and operational impacts of these regulations on families and the broader food supply chain.”

The survey further found that New Yorkers strongly favor balancing climate policy with affordability concerns. Eighty percent of respondents said the state should slow down or adjust regulations if they increase costs for homeowners, grocery stores, or everyday goods like food.

In late March, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court, Third Department, has issued a ruling that temporarily prevents the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) from enforcing a ban on two refrigerants utilized in the maintenance of commercial refrigeration systems employed by numerous businesses throughout the state. The court has granted an Order to Show Cause in the ongoing legal challenge to the state’s refrigerant regulations brought by HARDI.

Despite the broad implications of Part 494, public awareness of the regulation remains limited. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they had not heard of Part 494 before taking the survey.

HARDI continues to urge the New York State Legislature to remedy the issues with Part 494 and prevent further economic harm to consumers and businesses.

The survey of 500 New York State homeowners who are U.S. citizens was conducted by YouGov between April 23 and May 4, 2026. The margin of error is ±5.4%.

Under the proposed consent decree, Kroger will spend an estimated $100 million over the next three years to reduce coolant leaks from refrigerators and other equipment and improve company-wide compliance with rules protecting the Earth’s ozone layer. The company will also pay a $2.5 million civil penalty.

“Compliance with the Clean Air Act protects human health,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “Fixing leaks of ozone-depleting refrigerants makes a real difference in protecting all Americans from the harmful effects of solar radiation.”

The settlement resolves Kroger’s failure to promptly repair refrigerant equipment leaks of the refrigerant R-22, a powerful ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), between 2014 and 2023. Kroger also failed to keep adequate refrigeration service records.

Damage to the ozone layer results in dangerous increases in the amount of ultraviolet solar radiation that strikes the earth. This radiation has been linked to many harmful effects, including skin cancers and cataracts.

If entered by the court, the settlement requires Kroger to retrofit or replace 600 large commercial refrigeration systems at its stores to reduce ozone-depleting emissions. Kroger must also implement a refrigerant management system to help prevent and repair coolant leaks and keep its corporate-wide average leak rate to no more than 9.5 percent per year.

The consent decree was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and is subject to a 30-day public comment period. The complaint and proposed consent decree are available at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

The International Code Council is a global source of model codes and standards and building safety solutions. ICC codes, standards and solutions are used to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable communities and buildings worldwide.

A large number of the most-recognized HVACR product manufacturers, the HVACR industry's leading manufacturers' organization and a leading HVACR publication are in hot water due to an allegation of price-fixing.

Twenty-two leading HVACR original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have in a Michigan district court been accused of price fixing and overcharging for their products, and also of using the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) for "extensive sharing of information available only to AHRI members who also agreed to share their own data with their competitors,"  it was revealed on March 20, 2026, in a civil antitrust action filed in a Michigan district court. The lawsuit contains 54-counts, in violation of the antitrust laws of all 50 states.

In addition, the lawsuit (Berg v. Robert Bosch) accuses defendants of using ACHR News magazine, published by BNP Media, to announce those price increases and to describe their pricing and supply strategies to each other. The action is alleged to have started around January 1, 2020. 

Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) was accused of providing the defendants with a forum at which to collude, during the HARDI annual conferences.

The plaintiff, Alyssa Berg, claims the OEMs operated during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the HVAC supply chain was in disarray, and regulatory equipment transitions provided a cover for price fixing and overcharging for their HVAC heating and air conditioning products. Then they benefitted by other disruptions, including higher-prices for raw materials, labor shortages and the transition to A2L refrigerants, by using them as the reason for price increases.

The full list of defendants:

Robert Bosch LLC
Robert Bosch Gmbh
JC Residential And Light Commercial LLC
Johnson Controls Hitachi Air Conditioning North America LLC
Trane Technologies Plc
Trane US Inc.
Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US
Carrier Global Corp
Viessmann Manufacturing Co (US) Inc.
Daikin Industries Ltd.
Daikin Comfort Technologies North America
Daikin Applied Americas
Thermalnetics, LLC
Lennox International Inc.
Lennox Industries Inc.
Allied Air Enterprises LLC
Rheem Manufacturing Co.
Heat Transfer Products Group LLC
AAON Inc, a Nevada Corporation
AAON Inc, an Oklahoma Corporation,
Aaon Coil Products Inc.
Basx, Inc. 

Sources for Carrier have denied the "baseless allegations in this lawsuit, and will fight it vigorously. Carrier embraces competition and operates lawfully, and with integrity." 

Trane sources also called the claims "baseless," and said it is committed to integrity, regulatory compliance and delivering value." AAON sources said AAON believes the claims are without merit.

Rheem sources said "We are aware of the recent lawsuit filed against several HVAC equipment manufacturers, including Rheem. We deny the allegations in the complaint and look forward to defending our selves through the legal process."

Kyle Gargaro, editorial director for ACHR News, said the publication's content is not influenced by outside entities.

The lawsuit makes for fascinating reading for any contractor, attorney or even law student. It claims the OEMs began their conspiracy on or around January 1, 2020. At its center was price increases announced in ACHR News:

Nov. 15, 2019: Lennox, 3-6% increase
Nov. 18, 2019: AAON, 5% increase
Dec. 5, 2019: Amana (Daikin) and Goodman: 6% increase
Dec. 13, 2019: Allied Air, 4-6% increase.

The lawsuit goes on to claim that the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, "presented a golden opportunity. No customer could question that the pandemic had the potential to disrupt supply chains, so coordinated price increases suddenly became a bonanza for Defendants..."

Subsequent price increases were at levels that "vastly exceeded the Consumer Price Index."

According to the lawsuit, the planned price increases continued, to a point at which it "gathered steam," on March 8, 2021, when Trane announced a price increase of up to 7.5% on its commercial HVAC equipment, effective April 9, 2021, to be followed by price hikes by other OEMs through to November 12, 2021, and continuing into 2022.

The plaintiff seeks monetary damages and "equitable relief on behalf of all entities and persons who purchased HVAC equipment in the United States during the time of the alleged collusion, and to forbid any further similar agreements, conspiracies or combinations that would have a similar anticompetitive purpose or effect."

FIND THE ENTIRE TEXT OF THE LAWSUIT HERE:

https://www.locklaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026-03-20-1-Berg-v.-Robert-Bosch-Class-Action-Complaint-26-cv-10949-SKD-APP-E.D.-Mich.pdf

As part of the court’s decision, the existing enforcement discretion pertaining to R-404A and R-507A set to expire on March 31, 2026, is extended, and the NYSDEC is enjoined and restrained from enforcing the prohibition contained in Part 494-1.4(f)(1) pending a determination on HARDI’s request for a preliminary injunction.

This action provides immediate and critical relief to businesses across New York that rely on refrigerants to maintain safe and reliable food storage, distribution, and retail operations. A recent study by HARDI found that an estimated 18,130 refrigeration systems rely on the refrigerants protected by this court order, and that if the prohibition ultimately is allowed to take effect, it will cost the state $106.2 million in economic output. The court’s decision ensures that the current supply of refrigerants can continue to be used while the request for a preliminary injunction is decided.

“HARDI thanks the court for recognizing there is a critical issue with the refrigerant prohibition in Part 494,” said Alex Ayers, Vice President of Government Affairs. “The court recognized the urgency of the situation and the need to prevent disruption while these serious legal and practical concerns are fully considered.”

HARDI and industry stakeholders have consistently warned that the refrigerant restrictions in Part 494, particularly the prohibition on commonly used refrigerants, are not aligned with current market realities. Supply constraints and limited alternatives have raised significant concerns about businesses’ ability to comply without jeopardizing operations.

Without relief, HARDI warned that the regulation would lead to refrigerant shortages that could disrupt food supply chains, increase costs, and impact consumers statewide.

By granting the Order to Show Cause and temporarily blocking enforcement of the prohibition, the court has preserved market stability and provided time for a determination on the request for a preliminary injunction.

“This decision reinforces what we have been saying all along: the timeline and structure of Part 494 are unworkable,” Ayers added. “We remain committed to pursuing a durable solution that protects the environment, ensures viability of essential refrigeration, and prevents unnecessary cost increases for consumers.”

The case will now proceed as the court considers whether to grant a preliminary injunction. In the meantime, HARDI is urging the New York State Legislature to take action to address the underlying issues with Part 494 and ensure a more practical, coordinated approach that aligns with federal standards and avoids unnecessary harm to consumers and businesses.

Acquisition to Expand Distribution Offerings and Capabilities for Pro Customers;
Increases The Home Depot's Total Addressable Market to $1.2 Trillion

SRS Distribution Inc., a subsidiary of The Home Depot, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mingledorff's, Inc., a leading wholesale distributor of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, parts and supplies, serving residential and commercial customers through 42 locations in five states across the Southeastern U.S.

The Home Depot is building differentiated offerings and capabilities to better serve Pro customers. Through its subsidiary SRS, the company has also established a leading position in specialty trade distribution across multiple verticals including roofing and building products, interior and construction products, landscape and pool. SRS's acquisition of Mingledorff's adds HVAC distribution as a new vertical.

Mingledorff's brings an extensive product portfolio, robust distribution network and established customer relationships that are highly complementary to SRS's existing business, positioning the company to win greater share of walletin the fragmented building materials distribution industry.  HVAC distribution represents a total addressable market of approximately $100 billion and will increase The Home Depot's total addressable market to $1.2 trillion.

"The momentum we've seen in the SRS business is a testament to its strong customer value proposition and execution," said Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO of The Home Depot. "SRS is a growth engine for The Home Depot, and we continue to drive significant synergies that enable us to bring more innovation and value to our Pro customers. The addition of Mingledorff's will give us an incredible opportunity to build an enterprise-wide platform in HVAC equipment, replacement parts and supplies, creating another entry point into the broader distribution space."

"We are thrilled to welcome Mingledorff's to the SRS family, establishing another vertical that allows us to serve new Pro contractors while enhancing our product offering to our existing builder, general contractor and multifamily customers more holistically than ever before," said Dan Tinker, CEO of SRS. "By adding a quality HVAC platform alongside our premier roofing, interior and exterior building materials, landscape and pool businesses, we can offer our customers unmatched product options and streamlined fulfillment—all from a single, trusted distribution partner."

"Joining forces with SRS and The Home Depot marks an incredible new chapter in our company's history and gives us a powerful platform to broaden our reach and impact," said David Kesterton, president and CEO of Mingledorff's. "As a family-owned business with a long-standing heritage of service, we have always prioritized deep partnerships and an unwavering commitment to our customers' success. We're excited to expand our service-first mission while becoming an integral part of the premier destination for Pros in the industry."

Kesterton, as well as his senior leadership team, will continue to lead Mingledorff's as part of the SRS organization.

Cooling Post reports that Trane Technologies has completed the acquisition of liquid cooling technology company LiquidStack in a deal first announced last month.

According to Trane Technologies, the acquisition strengthens its position as a full‑service provider of advanced, sustainable thermal management solutions for mission critical operations, and unlocks new opportunities to scale LiquidStack’s innovative technology globally.

The company had previously made a minority investment in LiquidStack in 2023.

“By combining Trane Technologies’ end‑to‑end thermal management expertise with LiquidStack’s advanced high-density liquid, direct‑to‑chip, and immersion cooling solutions, we will be uniquely positioned to deliver one of the most comprehensive and adaptable suites of thermal management solutions in the market,” said Trane Technologies’ president, commercial HVAC Americas, Holly Paeper.

The acquisition includes LiquidStack’s manufacturing, engineering and research and development operations in Carrollton, Texas, and Hong Kong. LiquidStack will operate globally within the commercial HVAC business unit of the Trane Technologies Americas segment.

As part of this collaborative effort, the Blue Ridge RETA, Central Florida RETA, and North Florida RETA chapters, are building an incentive structure to reward the top five RETA CARO exam scores earned between March 2026 and November 27, 2026.

The Safety & Introduction section has been covered, however there are still 10 chapters that remain to be reviewed. The dates are:

March 11, Chapter 1: Refrigeration Fundamentals; Chapter 2: The Refrigeration Cycle
April 8, Chapter 3: Properties of Refrigerants and Refrigerant Tables
May 13, Chapter 4: Types of Refrigerant Compressors; Chapter 5 Operation & Maintenance of Compressors
June 10, Chapter 6: Lubrication
July 8, Chapter 7: Evaporation and Cooling Units
Aug. 12, Chapter 8: Condensers and High-Pressure Receivers
Sept. 9, Chapter 9: Purging
Oct. 7,  Chapter 10: Safety, Hazards and Prevention
Nov. 11, IR 1/ OP1 Book Review

To qualify for prizes, participants must attend at least three joint chapter meetings held from February 2026 through November 2026 and provide chapter leadership with proof of their passing high score.

Prize Structure

1st Place – $100 & tools/swag (meter, NH3 detector, PPE, etc.)

2nd Place – $75 & tools/swag

3rd Place – $50 & tools/swag

4th Place – $25 & tools/swag

5th Place – $25 & tools/swag

“The three RETA chapters will be covering the monetary awards, and we are seeking support from across our industry—contractors, equipment manufacturers, rental providers, end‑user companies, and more—to help supply the swag and tool items that will accompany each of the five prize packages,” says Blue Ridge Chapter President Stacy Coogan.

“These items not only motivate participants but also help reinforce safety, professionalism, and continued learning within our awesome industry,” Coogan says.

Organizations are encouraged to donate tools, detectors, PPE, hats, or other branded items.

“Your involvement directly encourages technician development and strengthens the future of our industry,” Coogan says. “Thank you to those who have supported us in the past, and we are welcome to any new partners who would like to join us in this initiative.”

Reach out to Stacy Coogan with any questions or to confirm your participation, at scoogan@coldcoregroup.com.

The report, Measuring the Impact of New York’s Refrigerant Prohibition and the Impact of Shortages on Food Retail Infrastructure, models the operational and economic consequences of prohibiting the sale of virgin R-404A and R-507A refrigerants beginning March 31, 2026, upon expiration of a temporary enforcement discretion that has delayed the prohibition of those refrigerants. 

HARDI conducted an analysis of Part 494 and discovered that enforcement will directly affect an estimated 18,130 refrigeration systems in New York grocery and convenience stores that rely on R-404A and R-507A. Servicing this installed base requires approximately 1.16 million pounds of refrigerant annually, yet historical nationwide reclaimed supply averages only about 606,000 pounds per year—roughly half of New York’s projected needs. Under a moderate disruption scenario, the report estimates an annual reduction of $106.2 million in statewide economic output, according to HARDI's analysis.

A morning press conference was held to bring attention to the issue, attended by HARDI, steelworkers unions, grocery store owners and HVACR contractors. It was held at a store owned by Nick Kusmierski, owner of Market in the Square, an independent, family-owned grocerty store in West Seneca, NY and Giant Food Mart, Cuba, NY.

Photo: Supermarket owner Nick Kusmierski, makes his case for refrigerant compromise.

"These are commonly used refrigerants in supermarket rack systems and convenience store refrigeration across the state. That might sound technical but here is what it means for grocery stores: refrigeration is not optional. It is mission-critical infrastructure that operates 24 hours a day, seven day a week to preserve meat, dairy frozen foods and produce," said Kusmierski, who described the situation small grocery stores and their customers would face should R-404A ad R-507A be prohibited before small store owners have sufficient time to prepare.

New York is home to more than 24,000 licensed retail food establishments, many of which operate refrigeration systems designed to last 15 to 25 years.

"They contain thousands of pounds of refrigerant. Even well-maintained systems experience leaks over time. When a leak happens, technicians need immediate access to refrigerant to stabilize the system and prevent food spoilage. Without reliable access to refrigerant, we are put in an impossible position," Kusmierski said. 

"If virgin refrigerant is prohibited, and the reclaim supply cannot meet demand, grocery stores across New York State will face shortages. That means service delays, higher refrigerant prices and potential food spoilage. In severe cases, that could mean temporary closures or permanent closures," continued Kusmierski. 

"We saw signs of this earlier, when the regulation first went into effect, before enforcement discretion was issued. There were reports of refrigerant shortages and shut-down systems. For a grocery store, refrigerant failure is not a minor inconvenience, it is an emergency, and the impact will not fall evenly. Large, national chains may have more flexibility to stockpile refrigerant or accelerate system replacements. However, independent grocery stores like ours and many across the state and here in Western New York operate on tight margins. Replacing a centralized rack system can cost hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars per store. That is not a decision that can be made overnight. These costs are passed along the supply chain and are ultimately reflected in grocery prices. At a time when families are already struggling with affordability, that matters. There is also a broader community impact. In many areas, particularly rural communities and lower-income neighborhoods, a single grocery story may be the primary source of fresh and frozen food. If refrigeration becomes unreliable or compliance costs force stores to close, the result is reduced food access and potential expansion of 'food deserts.'

"We all support responsible environmental progress. Grocery stores are already looking for alternatives and transitioning to lower GWP refrigerants in new systems. Federal law under the AIM Act provides a structured timeline for that transition. The concern here is New York's enforcement timeline accelerates equipment replacement beyond normal equipment lifecycles and creates a state-specific burden not shared by neighboring states. That misalignment introduces uncertainty into the supply chain, discourages investment, and would create an immediate and destabilizing supply shock for New York's essential food infrastructure," Kusmierski said.

Kusmierski said state Assembly Bill A.9596 and Senate Bill 9066 would align New York's approach with the Federal timeline and prevent the supply shock before it disrupts grocery operations statewide.

"Repealing Part 494 does not stop progress," Kusmierski explained. "It allows a refrigerant transition to proceed  in a coordinated, market-ready and Federally-aligned manner without jeopardizing food safety, small business or community access to groceries. This issue is not abstract for us. It is about whether we continue to reliably to serve our customers, it is about protecting food safety, small businesses and local jobs and it is about ensuring that families in New York can continue to access fresh food without unnecessary disruption or higher costs."

Assembly Member Bill Conrad provided some history related to the issue.

"We're here today to put together a legislative effort to convince DEC to align with the Federal standards that were put into place by the Biden Administration and make sure we don't miss out on an opportunity to compete but also help folks with the affordability of groceries and other things. 

Conrad said four groups will be harmed by Part 494: homeowners and their air conditioning condenser systems, supermarket owners and their customers, especially customers in under-served areas; critical infrastructures for schools and hospitals; and contracting firms whose technicians are not yet trained to service refrigeration systems that are charged with higher pressure refrigerants.

"I'm asking my colleagues in the Senate and the Assembly to help pass this legislation and align us with the rest of the United States and not give us the competitive disadvantage when it comes to our communities."

“Refrigeration is not optional for food retailers. It is fundamental to food safety, public health, and community well-being,” said Alex Ayers, Vice President of Government Affairs at HARDI. “This report demonstrates that restricting access to service refrigerants before the market is ready risks unintended economic and community consequences across New York.”

The HARDI white paper also highlights the details contained in Assembly Bill A.9596 and Senate Bill S.9066, which would replace Part 494’s prohibition with the federal transition schedule. According to the analysis, legislative action could prevent a regulatory supply shock and facilitate a coordinated, beneficial refrigerant transition.

Download the full white paper for more information here.