York Discontinues HCFC-123 Chillers

Global chiller manufacturer York International stopped offering new chillers using the ozone-depleting refrigerant HCFC-123 beginning November 15, 2004. While touting the quality of its HCFC-123 chiller line, York cited the mandated global phaseout of HCFC refrigerants by the year 2020—well within the operating life of new chillers—as the reason for the phaseout. “York believes the time has come to complete the transition by ceasing to offer new HCFC-123 chillers,” company president Iain Campbell said. “Today, we have a full line of zero-ODP [ozone-depletion potential] chillers utilizing HFC refrigerants, which have no phaseout schedule.” The HCFC-123 refrigerant was originally developed as a replacement for CFC-11, which was phased out in the 1990s due to its ozone-depletion potential.