With summer quickly approaching, it's time to gear up for the busy season. For most contractors, that means making sure fleet maintenance is up to date, beginning to work your way through contract customers, and stocking up on equipment, parts, supplies, and refrigerants. However, many HVAC contractors are having difficulty finding R-454B refrigerant.
How Did We Get Here?
If the AIM Act was passed in 2020, why is it challenging to purchase refrigerant for new A2L residential cooling systems? The American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act was bipartisan legislation initially proposed by Republican Sen. John Kennedy and Democrat Sen. Tom Carper in 2019. President Donald Trump eventually signed it into law on Dec. 27, 2020. There are three key areas of the AIM Act, which include:
1. Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) Phasedown: by 85% over fifteen years;
2. Technology Transition: Shifting the country to environmentally friendly and more efficient technologies; and
3. Regulatory Framework: Giving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the power to create the rules and oversee their compliance.
Uncertain Future
One rule the EPA created was the mandate of reusable refrigerant bottles with QR codes that would track the handling of the bottles.
On Dec. 2, 2021, Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), Heating Air Conditioning Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI), Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors (PHCC), and Worthington Industries sued the EPA, claiming the reusable cylinder rule was an over overreach of the power granted to them by the AIM act.
The case lasted nearly a year and a half and concluded in June 2023. The U.S. Court of Appeals struck down the ban on disposable refrigerant cylinders, finally giving the refrigerant and cylinder manufacturers a sense of direction.
However, the EPA didn't formally withdraw the provisions until September 2024.
New Gas on the Block
R-454B is a relatively new refrigerant in residential comfort cooling. The Chemours Company holds the patent and has been ramping up production to meet the demand for newly designed equipment required by the AIM Act. Honeywell Advanced Materials manufactures R-454B under its trade name Solstice 454B. R-454B is a blended refrigerant consisting of R-32 and R-1234yf.
Chemours and Honeywell are building an infrastructure around the blend, which takes time. R-32, the A2L refrigerant used in residential equipment by Daikin, Amana, and Goodman, is readily available. One thing to keep in mind is that countless companies around the globe manufacture R-32. It has been a popular refrigerant outside North America for years and has a well-established infrastructure and supply chain.
In April 2025, Honeywell announced it could no longer keep up with the “unprecedented demand” for R-454B. It also stated it would have to import the refrigerant, causing the price to increase by over 40%. As of the end of April, the average price for a 20-lb cylinder of R-32 in the Chicagoland area is $350, while R-454B sells for $650-$700 per 20-lb cylinder.
Tank Shortage
The new refrigerant cylinders have a 20-lb capacity and are painted gray with a red stripe, signifying A2L flammability. The tanks have left-handed threads to help prevent accidental usage in non-A2L equipment. They are equipped with a pressure relief valve, which would gradually reduce the pressure inside the tank if conditions become unsafe.
There are claims that part of the issue is due to a shortage of Worthington's new cylinders manufactured in the U.S. That may or may not be true because those same cylinders are used for R-32, which is abundantly available at a lower price.
The Toilet Paper Effect
During the COVID-19 quarantine, there was a toilet paper shortage, which I'm sure none of us will ever forget. Fear drove that shortage and caused people to overbuy.
The same thing is happening right now with R-454B. Since the gas is hard to find throughout the country, when contractors find a distributor with an ample supply, they overbuy. Doing so creates a further scarcity for everyone else.
Forced to Weigh Options (and not refrigerants)
While you might get lucky when installing a new R-454B system and have a line set short enough that the factory refrigerant charge will get you by, the chances of that occurring are rare.
Some contractors are being forced to explore the secondary refrigerant market online. Buying refrigerants from Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist is not ideal or sustainable. The price for a 20-lb cylinder of R-454B is currently over $1,000, more than the value of the phased-out R-22. I would caution anyone buying refrigerant from anyone who is not an authorized reseller. You do not know what you will get.
Another option would be to explore the manufacturers that have adopted R-32. Since R-32 is readily available, it might become a necessity for survival. Summer equipment sales can make the difference between a loss and a profit for the year. Many companies don't have the luxury of waiting until the third quarter for their refrigerant orders to be filled.
Many people have repeated rumors about how R-32 will be phased out before R-454B. This bad information causes contractors to use caution when selecting their A2L of choice. There is no truth to these rumors. Both R-32 and R-454B meet the maximum Global Warming Potential (GWP) limit established under the AIM Act.
The above points focus primarily on new equipment sales. What happens on warranty service calls for equipment already installed? What happens if there's a leak? It could be a manufacturing defect, or it could be caused by human error during installation. What will you do without refrigerant to service your brand of choice? That is the million-dollar question.
A Pound of Prevention
The next few months are going to be challenging. This business is tricky enough to navigate without the added stress of dealing with supply chain issues. I don't recall a time in my career when you couldn't walk into a supply house and pick up what was needed for truck stock (besides during COVID). What worries me is the thought that this could start becoming the new normal.
The result of this is unpredictability in what should be a profitable busy season, which will also come with an increased cost of doing business. And all this lack of planning ultimately impacts our customers, making residential comfort cooling less affordable.