United States · AIM Act Technology Transitions · 40 CFR Part 84

Which US HFC rule applies to this system and date?

Check the federal AIM Act rule for a refrigeration, air-conditioning, heat-pump or chiller job. BecSpec works from the system type, date, refrigerant and the facts that can change the rule. A legal GWP result is not a recommendation to put that refrigerant in the equipment.

Scope: this checker covers selected federal 40 CFR §84.54 installation rules, including cases where work on existing equipment counts as a new installation. It does not check SNAP, Section 608, product manufacture/import/sale or state/local rules.

Start with a real ENERGY STAR HVAC model

Search the live U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR Certified Heat Pumps and Light Commercial HVAC datasets by model number, indoor-unit model or brand. Choosing a result fills in the equipment and refrigerant facts we can get from EPA; you still choose the installation/work date and any transition evidence.

Model number or brand

Model facts come live from the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR Certified Heat Pumps dataset ↗ and ENERGY STAR Certified Light Commercial HVAC dataset ↗. BecSpec is not affiliated with or endorsed by EPA or ENERGY STAR. EPA market-availability dates are not treated as AIM Act installation dates.

1. Activity and system

What are you doing?

System subsector

Installation / work date

Refrigerant

Regulatory GWP

2. System facts

Only enter facts that can change the federal result. Leave anything you genuinely do not know blank; BecSpec will show what still needs checking.

Full system refrigerant charge (lb)

Refrigerant temperature entering evaporator (°C)

High-temperature side of a cascade system?

3. Existing-system work

Some work on an existing system is legally treated as a new installation under the Technology Transitions rules. These questions are about that legal classification, not how to carry out the work.

Is this the first assembly of the system from components?

Does the work match the §84.54(e)(3) major replacement pattern?

Cooling-capacity increase (%)

3. Residential / light-commercial transition evidence

All specified components manufactured/imported before 1 Jan 2025?

3. VRF transition evidence

All specified components manufactured/imported before 1 Jan 2026?

Qualifying approved building permit issued before 5 Oct 2023?

3. Industrial-process refrigeration evidence

System used for semiconductor manufacturing?

4. Project transition evidence

Qualifying approved building permit issued before 5 Oct 2023 and specifying the restricted refrigerant/system?

US HFC phase-down dates are system-specific

The AIM Act Technology Transitions rules do not create one universal refrigerant-ban date. Residential/light-commercial air conditioning, VRF, chillers, data-center cooling, cold storage, supermarkets, remote condensing units and industrial-process refrigeration use different dates, thresholds and transition provisions.

Existing system repair is not automatically exempt

Ordinary repair may sit outside the new-installation restrictions, but §84.54(e) lists circumstances where work on existing equipment counts as an installation. The checker asks those questions rather than assuming every repair is exempt.

Federal eligibility is not refrigerant compatibility

Passing an assessed GWP limit does not mean a refrigerant is compatible with the equipment, permitted by EPA SNAP, approved by the manufacturer, or acceptable under fire, building, mechanical, state or local rules.

Rule version

Based on current 40 CFR Part 84 Subpart B and EPA Technology Transitions material. Where a transition route depends on evidence, the result tells you what you need to prove.