New York Refrigerant Regulations for Heat Pump Water Heaters: What Contractors Need to Know Before January 1, 2027

Plan for Tomorrow, Act for Today

The push to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions continues to drive change in the residential water heating industry. Rheem^® is your trusted source of industry regulatory issues industry regulatory issues and is committed to delivering regulatory updates to keep you prepared and ahead of the curve.

Understanding the new Requirements

On Dec 24, 2024, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation amended 6 NYCRR Part 494, Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) Standards and Reporting. It sets new global warming potential (GWP) limits for air conditioning, refrigeration and water heating equipment. States like New York are transitioning to new refrigerants to replace older, high-GWP HFCs (like R-134a) to meet modern environmental and regulatory standards.

What Changed in New York’s Refrigerant Regulations?

New refrigerant regulations in the state of New York will advance the development of better technologies to reduce emissions and make these technologies available at a greater scale providing more energy-efficient and cost-effective options to consumers. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NY DEC) established a 20-year GWP (GWP20) limit of 10 for “Other Residential HVAC,” which includes factory charged heat pump water heaters (HPWH).

• The NY rule is the first-of-its-kind limits for HPWHs.
• The NY rule is the first to contain ultra low GWP limits for AC, heat pumps, and commercial refrigeration.

Refrigerant Transition at a Glance

*Current HPWHs can be sold throughout the US except New York state.

What Is the January 1, 2027 Compliance Deadline?

• New York requires residential heat pump water heaters to use refrigerants with a GWP20 of 10 or less beginning January 1, 2027.
  • Models manufactured before January 1, 2027 can continue to be sold and installed until January 1, 2028 (1-year following the prohibition date) .
  • Models manufactured after January 1, 2027 must meet the new ultra low global warming potential requirements.

*Manufacturing dates limitations are still being questioned with the DEC and subject to change.

How Contractors Should Prepare Today

In addition to the energy savings when upgrading to heat pump water heaters from an electric or gas tank, the regulation would provide potential greenhouse gas emissions reduction, particularly in cooler climates like New York State. Using energy-efficient Heat Pump Water Heaters with ultra low GWP refrigerants means spending less on energy costs and further reduced greenhouse gas emissions. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) analysis found that when broken down by each state’s population, New Yorkers could see up to $540 million in energy cost savings across a variety of home and commercial products and equipment including residential Heat Pump Water Heaters.

Registration, Record keeping, and Reporting

Benefits of Ultra Low GWP Refrigerants

Ultra low GWP refrigerants will help control emissions of HFCs and substitutes that contribute to global climate change. HFCs have a global warming potential (GWP) – a metric that measures the ability of gases to trap heat in the atmosphere – hundreds to thousands of times higher than carbon dioxide.