HVAC Contractors Adapt to A2L Refrigerant Changes

Rising Costs and Delays

Anytime there is a technology or industry shift, there are going to be upgraded costs for both customers and contractors, Garner explains.

“We’re not immune to it,” Garner says. “We’ve been seeing training, tools, and equipment upgrades all have that additional cost. One of the main things we try to stress to our customers is that some of these new A2L systems might have higher investments, but because of their efficiency, they actually translate into longer-term savings for homeowners. Honestly, we’re more concerned about the tariffs because we haven’t seen the full impact of them yet. We’ve had vendors reaching out and letting us know there may be some increased costs associated, and to pay attention. We’ve known about the actual transition to refrigerant for years, so we prepared early. The tariffs kind of caught us by surprise.”

On top of increased costs, Skradski is experiencing delays with equipment availability.

“Planning for this change and what it can entail is part of growth,” Skradski says. “By identifying which processes and timelines may be impacted, we can make necessary adjustments. Setting clear expectations and working together as a team helps mitigate concerns regarding processes, timelines, and efficiency.”

C & C’s workflow and technician flow have remained unaffected, Hottle notes.

“We consistently communicate with our staff about equipment availability to ensure everyone is well-informed and prepared to serve our customers at the highest level,” she says. “The changeover hasn’t fully impacted us yet. While some individual pieces of equipment haven’t become available, overall stock has remained stable. To stay prepared, we’ve made a conscious effort to keep our sales team informed about equipment availability and have maintained additional stock on hand as a precaution.”

Cardinal has encouraged its employees to take their time when handling A2L systems.

“I want the guys to go nice and slow — slow is smooth and smooth is fast,” Garner says. “Our team has been working on it nonstop, and honestly, I really think we’ve refined the process to make them as seamless as possible. One of the things we’ve been doing is the pre-job site evaluation for A2Ls. Typically, we’ll have a project manager out there to do all the measurements. Now, we have our team review the Rilla calls to make sure that they understand fully what the project manager was discussing, and then the project manager meets the technician or the installers onsite with that homeowner just to make sure that everybody’s on the same page.”

And while Garner notes there have been some supply chain delays, Cardinal has been preparing and planning for this with its vendors for quite some time. The company is well-positioned. “I do see it becoming a problem for some companies,” he adds.