Background

On June 21, 2007, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) approved four, among the total of 37, early action measures to reduce the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions from mobile air conditioning (MAC) systems. These measures will control HFC release from Do-It-Yourself motor vehicle air conditioning (MVAC) servicing, require addition of AC leak tightness test / repair to smog check, enforce the federal regulations on banning HFC release from MVAC servicing / dismantling, and require using low-GWP refrigerants for new MVAC.

On October 25, 2007, the ARB approved another one, among the total of 7, additions to the early action measures, to establish tracking, reporting and recovery protocols for high-GWP refrigerants, which includes refrigerant recovery from decommssioned refrigerated shipping containers.

Accordingly, ARB staff, in collaboration with other state and local agencies, industry, environmental groups, and other stakeholders, is developing control strategies to implement these early action measures.

Early Action Measures on HFC Emission Reductions from Mobile Air Conditioning

• Reduction of HFC-134a Emissions from DIY MVAC Servicing (PDF - 18KB)
• Addition of AC Tightness Test and Repair to Smog Check (PDF - 18KB)
• Enforcement of Federal Ban of HFC Release from MVAC Servicing and Dismantling (PDF - 17KB)
• Requirement of Low-GWP Refrigerants for New MVAC (PDF - 22KB)
• Refrigerant Recovery from Decommissioned Refrigerated Shipping Containers (part of the High-GWP Refrigerant Tracking, Reporting and Recovery Program) (PDF - 53KB)

What's New

July 31, 2008
Second Public Workshop to Discuss Concepts for Reducing HFC-134a Emissions from Do-It-Yourself Servicing of Motor Vehicle Air Conditioning Systems

• Workshop Notice (PDF - 130KB)
• Workshop Agenda (PDF - 4KB)
• Workshop Time
• 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (Pacific Daylight Time)
• Workshop Location
• Coastal Hearing Room
  2nd Floor
  Cal/EPA Headquarters Building
  1001 I Street
  Sacramento, California 95814
  
• Documents
• ARB Staff Presentation (PDF - 89KB)
• Draft Regulation* (PDF - 254KB)
• Draft Certification Procedures (PDF - 39KB)

* The Draft Regulation incorporates conceptual updates in response to feedback received on the White Paper that is linked below in the Reference Section of this page. The White Paper and its Technical Support Document will not be updated to reflect evolution of the regulation. Instead, the Initial Statement of Reasons (ISOR) and its Technical Support Document will provide analysis of the updated regulation.

Past Events

References

• DIY 'Small Can' White Paper (PDF - 115KB)
• Technical Support Document for DIY 'Small Can' White Paper (PDF - 152KB)
• ARPI's Alternative Proposal (PDF - 5 KB)
• ARB 'Small Can' Study Intermediate Report (PDF - 485KB)
• Frost & Sullivan 'Small Can' Study Report (PDF - 2,224KB)
• U.S. EPA Disposable Container Heel Testing Study Report (PDF - 723KB)
• 'Small Can' Fact Sheet (PDF - 194 KB)
• ARB AB 32 Early Actions Final Report (PDF - 1,967KB)
• Updated Macroeconomic Analysis of the Climate Strategies Presented in the March 2006 Climate Action Team Report
• Attachment A, Summary of Climate Strategy Updates (PDF - 80KB)
• Attachment B, Climate Strategy Updates (PDF - 2,456KB)
• Report of the August 14-15 2007 U.S. EPA Workshop, 2007, "HFC - 152a Secondary Loop Vehicle A/C Systems" (PDF - 4,059KB)
• European Commissions Final Report, "Establishment of Leakage Rates of Mobile Air Conditioners in Heavy Duty Vehicles", ENV.C.1/SER/2005/0091r
• Part 1, Trucks (PDF - 292KB)
• Part 2, Buses and Coaches (PDF - 562KB)
• Previous Presentations
• 9th SAE Automotive Alternate Refrigerant Systems Symposium, 2008, "Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Abatement Opportunities in Do-it-Yourself Recharging of Leaky Motor Vehicle Air Conditioning Systems in California" (PDF - 190KB)
• 8th SAE Automotive Alternate Refrigerant Systems Symposium, 2007, "Status Update - Proposed HFC Reduction Measures for California" (PDF - 516KB)
• 7th SAE Automotive Alternate Refrigerant Systems Symposium, 2006(a), "CO₂ Emission Quantification from Vehicle Air Conditioning Operation in California-Specific Conditions" (PDF - 765KB)
• 7th SAE Automotive Alternate Refrigerant Systems Symposium, 2006(b), "New Proposed HFC Reduction Measures for California" (PDF - 219KB)

For questions regarding the content on this web page, please contact Tao Zhan at (916)445-9495.