Use the value required by the rule
Global warming potential compares a substance’s climate effect with carbon dioxide over a specified period. Published values can differ by assessment and regulatory purpose. Use the values and mixture provisions required by the applicable regulation; 40 CFR 84.64(b) provides the table referenced by Part 84’s leak-repair applicability provision.
Identity, charge and appliance use all matter
40 CFR 82.157 generally covers appliances with at least 50 pounds of a class I or class II ozone-depleting refrigerant, or a blend containing one. This is an ODS-based test, not a GWP threshold.
40 CFR 84.106(a) addresses qualifying appliances with a full charge of at least 15 pounds of refrigerant containing either a regulated substance, or a substitute for a regulated substance whose GWP is greater than 53. The GWP cutoff belongs to the substitute branch. It excludes appliances containing solely an ODS and the residential/light-commercial air-conditioning and heat-pump subsector. Review mixed refrigerants and the precise appliance classification rather than assigning one rule from a refrigerant label alone.
For covered appliances, both frameworks use 10% comfort cooling, 20% commercial refrigeration and 30% industrial process refrigeration. The refrigerant’s GWP does not choose among those categories.
A2L is a separate safety classification
R-32 and R-454B are examples of A2L refrigerants. That classification does not by itself establish leak-repair coverage or an exemption. A covered refrigeration appliance and an excluded residential/light-commercial AC appliance can have different Part 84 obligations even if their refrigerants have similar GWP values.
EPA’s SNAP listings for residential/light-commercial AC and heat pumps include end-use restrictions and use conditions. Consult those conditions, equipment-specific instructions, safety data and applicable codes; a refrigerant listing is not blanket permission for an installation or retrofit.
What a leak-repair exclusion does not establish
An appliance outside these federal leak-repair provisions may still have certification, venting, recovery, worker-safety, building-code or other duties. Avoid describing a refrigerant as simply “exempt” without naming the requirement and checking its conditions.
FieldPad stores refrigerant and equipment information to support this review. Confirm the full charge, authoritative appliance subsector and source evidence; selecting a refrigerant alone cannot certify the result.
