Q
EPA Section 608
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A
The Clean Air Act regulation governing the servicing, maintenance, and disposal of equipment containing ozone-depleting and substitute refrigerants -- requires technician certification.
Q
Type I certification
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Covers small appliances -- factory-sealed, 5 lbs of refrigerant or less (e.g. household refrigerators, window AC units, water coolers).
Q
Type II certification
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A
Covers high-pressure and very high-pressure appliances (except small appliances and MVACs) -- most residential and light commercial split systems and heat pumps.
Q
Type III certification
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Covers low-pressure appliances -- chillers using low-pressure refrigerants.
Q
Universal certification
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Covers all three appliance types (I, II, and III) -- earned by passing all three individual exams (or the combined core + all three sections).
Q
Recovery
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A
Removing refrigerant from a system in any condition and storing it in an external container, without necessarily testing or processing it.
Q
Recycling
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A
Cleaning refrigerant for reuse by removing oil and moisture and passing it through filter-driers, typically at the job site -- reduces contaminants but does not meet the full purity of virgin refrigerant.
Q
Reclamation
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Reprocessing refrigerant to new-product (AHRI 700) purity specifications, verified by chemical analysis -- only done off-site by a certified reclaimer.
Q
ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential)
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A
A relative measure of a refrigerant's capacity to destroy stratospheric ozone -- CFCs have the highest ODP, HCFCs a reduced ODP, and HFCs an ODP of zero.
Q
GWP (Global Warming Potential)
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A
A relative measure of how much a given mass of a gas contributes to warming compared to the same mass of CO2 over a set time period -- used to compare refrigerants' climate impact even when ODP is zero.
Q
CFC (Chlorofluorocarbon)
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A
An older class of refrigerant (e.g. R-12) containing chlorine, fluorine, and carbon -- high ozone depletion potential, production phased out under the Montreal Protocol.
Q
HCFC (Hydrochlorofluorocarbon)
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A transitional refrigerant class (e.g. R-22) that includes hydrogen along with chlorine and fluorine -- lower ozone depletion potential than CFCs, but still being phased out.
Q
HFC (Hydrofluorocarbon)
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A
A refrigerant class (e.g. R-410A, R-134a) containing no chlorine, so it has zero ozone depletion potential -- but often a significant global warming potential.
Q
Venting prohibition
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A
Knowingly venting refrigerant to the atmosphere during the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal of equipment is illegal under Section 608 -- small releases during normal use/repair (de minimis) are the only exception.
Q
Self-sealing low-loss fittings requirement
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A
Required on all appliance service hoses/gauge sets used with high-pressure appliances (built after November 1995 for small appliances) to minimize refrigerant loss when disconnecting equipment.