The Air Conditioning Contractors of America released the following statement regarding Honeywell’s public announcement of R466A, a new refrigerant that is potentially a non-flammable alternative to R410A.

 “The development of a non-flammable alternative refrigerant is welcome news for contractors who have been concerned about the push to adopt flammable refrigerants without a strong focus on safety and contractor and technician training,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, ACCA president and CEO. “However, it is far too early to determine if R466A is a viable alternative for the residential marketplace. ACCA looks forward to receiving additional information and sharing input from the contracting industry about these developments.”

“ACCA is committed to working with refrigerant producers and equipment manufacturers to foster the adoption of refrigerants that are non-ozone depleting and have low global warming potential,” said Glenn Hourahan, ACCA senior vice president of technical and engineering. “It will be a while before the industry considers adopting this potential alternative refrigerant because manufacturers and contractors need to know how it will perform in the field and study possible negative side effects on the application. Therefore, ACCA remains committed to working with our industry partners to ensure training is in place for products that are considered mildly flammable and have been recognized by much of the industry as viable alternatives to R410A.”