Industry Worries About Stranded R-410A Equipment

But there is concern among distributors about leftover — some call it stranded — R-410A inventory. According to Alex Ayers, vice president of government affairs at Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI), members have reported potential losses totaling more than $500 million should the Dec. 31, 2025, installation deadline not be repealed.

“Even a 1% loss in equipment value is a significant portion of net margin for distributors of all sizes,” Ayers said. “It’s why installation deadlines are a bad policy; the distributor, who has the least control over the supply chain, is the one stuck with the dead inventory.”

In September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed repealing the installation deadline as part of its reconsideration of the Technology Transitions subsection of the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act of 2020, the law behind the phasedown of high-GWP refrigerants like R-410A. However, a decision is not expected until the spring or summer. (HARDI is lobbying for enforcement discretion as well as a repeal of the deadline.)

Several distributors contacted by The NEWS said their strategies for selling off R-410A inventory were going well, but that they would benefit from the repeal, or extension, of the deadline.

“For locations with higher-than-desired inventory, this would be very helpful,” Thomas Schleisner, an area leader at Winsupply Inc., said of a deadline extension. Winsupply has a stake in more than 660 local distribution companies across the country. “Most of our companies … have already adjusted their business plans and run down their inventory,” Schleisner added.

“We fully support an extension, or better yet, a complete removal of the R-410A installation deadline,” said Michael Hendershott, president of The Master Group U.S., which is made up of Value Added Distributors and Refrigeration Sales Corp., which have 28 locations between them. “Transitions should always be managed at the manufacturing level with production deadlines.”

Heading into December, the amount of leftover R-410A equipment at The Master Group U.S. varied by brand, Hendershott said, though popular systems had been mostly sold through. That was after a closeout effort that included consolidating inventory at specific locations, using a matchup tool to put together AHRI-rated split systems from available components, offering progressively deeper discounts, and giving employees incentives to sell R-410A units, he said.

“Some slower-moving equipment remains, so the effort will continue as long as possible,” Hendershott said.

At Behler-Young Co., which has more than 20 locations, there was also an aggressive discount program, plus sales to other distributors that needed R-410 equipment the company had, CEO Doug Young said.

“Our strategy was to bring in 454 (R-454B) equipment as soon as available and quickly sell off our 410 equipment,” Young said. As of late November, about 85% of R-410A equipment had been sold through, Young said.

“Even if the dates don’t change for systems installs beyond the end of the year, we will be able to move the rest of our equipment through component changeouts and warranty work,” Young said.

At Winsupply, the closeout strategy varied from company to company.

“Some local leaders decided to aggressively sell through their R-410A units sooner, while others maintain limited inventory to ensure service availability for existing systems,” Schleisner said. “We pride ourselves on local flexibility, and that was considered necessary due to the variation in the regional market conditions and contractor preparedness for transitioning to the A2L refrigerants.”

But Winsupply had also taken steps before this year to reduce R-410A equipment inventory, and had also run promotions on the equipment for its local companies, Schleisner said.

Total Home Supply, a distributor based in Pine Brook, New Jersey, that processes most of its sales online, sold off its R-410A inventory before the end of the summer, said president Mike Luongo. “We intentionally did not bring in much in R-410A products in 2024, so it left us healthy,” Loungo said.

Schleisner said some of Winsupply’s contractor customers have expressed anxiety about where the price of replacement R-410A refrigerant will go as the supply dwindles, and about balancing customer needs with the uncertainties around regulatory timing and supply chain issues.

“Some contractors would prefer more time and flexibility due to the practical concerns,” he said.

Behler-Young’s contractor customers were “heavy” on R-410A equipment going into 2025, Young said, because of concerns about the availability of new systems that use A2L refrigerants. “The lack of availability for 454B refrigerant also helped move some 410A equipment that might have been sold as a newer refrigerant job,” he added.

“With that being said,” Young said, “as they went through that on-hand inventory, most of the mid-sized and larger contractors transitioned over to the new A2L equipment as gas (refrigerant) became available.”

Hendershott said the refrigerant supply situation in the spring and summer “made the initial transition difficult for both contractors and distributors alike,” but that the situation is mostly resolved. “The (contractor) feedback lately is centered around affordability for end users replacing legacy equipment with new, more expensive, A2L systems,” he said.