SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS

Asset Classes

Focus Area

Indoor Air Quality and Hazards

Topic

Refrigerants

Question #

I5.3 — Phase-out High GWP Refrigerants

Question

Is there a plan to phase out any of the high global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants in use at the building or have any already been phased out?

Applicability

Applicable to all buildings (systems or equipment in the owner or landlord’s control)

Answer

Select which of the following high GWP refrigerants are planned for phase-out:

    • R12
    • R22
    • R410a
    • R407c
    • R134a
    • Halon or Halocarbon Fire Suppressants greater than 10 kg
    • Other (include refrigerant name and GWP)
    • None

Description

Refrigerants contribute to climate change by trapping heat in the atmosphere similar to CO2. The global warming impact of a refrigerant is referred to as Global Warming Potential (GWP), a metric that measures a substances impact relative to CO2. When a refrigerant is released to the atmosphere it contributes to a building emissions. This often occurs when leaks develop, equipment is damaged, and during decommissioning. As refrigerants are phased out equipment will require decommissioning and replacement with new equipment

For comparison, the common refrigerant R410A has a GWP 2,088, meaning the warming effect it has when released to the atmosphere is 2,088x more than that of CO2

Requirements

    1. Indicate which type of refrigerants have already been phased out
    2. Indicate which type of refrigerants are currently being used in the building
    3. Where high GWP refrigerants are being used please describe the transition plan

Documentation

    • Evidence of refrigerants already phased out
    • Refrigerant Phase-out Plan

Adapted BB3 Question

New in BOMA BEST 4.0

Suggested Lead

In-house, with third-party support

References

Crosswalk

TBD

Other Notes

The following refrigerants are considered to have medium to low GWP compared to those with high GWP listed above:

    • R32 (medium GWP)
    • R513a (medium GWP)
    • R1234ze (low GWP)
    • R1234yf (low GWP)
    • R514a (low GWP)
    • R1233zd (low GWP)
    • Ammonia (R717) (low GWP)
    • Propane (R290) (low GWP)
    • CO2 (R744) (low GWP)
    • Water (R718) (low GWP)

Low emissions refrigerants have a GWP under 600 kgCO2e/m2

Scoring

3 Points

Verification