EPA has begun limiting the use of refrigerants that have high global warming-potential properties. The refrigerant manufacturing industry has responded by developing a number of replacement refrigerants. One of the characteristics of most of these products is that they are minimally flammable as compared to other flammable refrigerants. Different protection schemes exist for lesser risk products which are not as restrictive as those for other more flammable refrigerants. The change addresses a new class of refrigerants with lower flammability characteristics called Group A2L refrigerants. This change simply allows Group A2L refrigerants in refrigeration machinery rooms to comply with the current code requirements for Group 1, Division 2 electrical systems, OR install detection and ventilation systems to mitigate the hazard.
The IFC, IMC, and ASHRAE have historically classified refrigerant flammability as:
Group 1 (nonflammable)
Group 2 (moderately flammable), and
Group 3 (highly flammable
The newly developed and environmentally preferred refrigerants present a lower flammability hazard than traditional Class 2 refrigerants; therefore, a new classification, Group 2L, was established.