Phase Out Plan

Paola, it is important to understand that the CFC phase out plan is more important for the documentation for EAp3, Fundamental Refrigerant Management. If the calculations for EAc5 show that the refrigerant impact per ton is greater than 100 during the performance period, it will not change the measured outcome of that credit if you submit a CFC phase out plan during your final review. However, a CFC phase out plan may be necessary depending on the analysis you performed for EAp3 - was that prerequisite also denied during your preliminary review? Essentially, if your building uses CFC-based refrigerants and the required economic analysis for EAp3 shows that it will be economically feasible to either convert or replace the existing equipment with an alternative that does not use CFCs, THEN you are required to provide a plan that shows how your will phase out those CFC-based refrigerants within 5 years. The requirements of the phase-out plan are described on pages 146-148 of the 2009 Edition of the Reference Guide.

Hi Paola, Thanks for clarifying, but unfortunately, my response still holds true. The documentation for EAc5 is based on the observed performance in your project building during your defined performance period and the performance period may not be extended for this particular credit. You are correct in stating that the refrigerant impact per ton would decrease if you replaced or converted the equipment that is currently using R-22, but your EAc5 documentation for this certification project must be based on actual performance during the performance period and not on a promise to modify the refrigerant inventory at some future point. I'm sorry to say it, but you should consider this credit to be unachievable for this current project, and look ahead to a future re-certification project while considering any potential retrofits to your chiller equipment to ensure that you will be able to meet the requirements at that time.