You may have received an email from “Make American A/C Affordable Again” (view the flyer) urging you to participate in a petition to delay the transition from R-410A. This is a fake organization created by a refrigerant importer seeking to profit from the frustration among the contractor community regarding the refrigerant cylinder shortage. The company behind it recently hired political consultants in Washington, DC, to influence politicians into modifying the AIM Act in a way that primarily benefits them as refrigerant importers. In DC, we refer to this as “third-party advocacy” to divert attention away from the company set to gain the most. 

Scam Flyer Pictured Below:

In emails to suppliers revealed through one of the numerous lawsuits filed against the company, the owner believed the company could generate over $2 billion in profit due to the HFC phasedown. Delaying the transition to new refrigerants would increase those profits, yet the cost to the industry would be massive. The AIM Act establishes a strict phasedown schedule in law, which cannot be changed by regulation. The longer R-410A systems utilize virgin refrigerants for servicing and repair, the fewer allocations remain for the next refrigerant. This means that delaying the ongoing transition would require moving to an even lower GWP refrigerant in the future. As we saw in New York State, this means using refrigerants like propane, ammonia, or carbon dioxide in air conditioners and heat pumps, with no available safety standard to support this. 

Despite these efforts, the A2L transition continues to move forward, and HARDI will continue to advocate for policies that benefit HVACR distributors and the industry.

If you have any questions about the A2L transition, refrigerant shortage, or efforts to undermine industry positions, please reach out to Alex Ayers.

Alex Ayers
Vice President,
Government Affairs