International.
The Institute of Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration (AHRI) has announced significant changes to paint color designations for refrigerants in the revised AHRI Guideline N, Refrigerant Container Color Assignment.
Reviews now specify that all refrigerant containers must have a uniform paint color, a light green gray color (RAL 7044), and that existing individually assigned container paint colors should transition to that color in 2020.
The AHRI Guideline N previously stipulated that specific paint colors were used for refrigerant containers as an additional means of identifying the refrigerant. However, with the increasing number of refrigerants approved for use, there is concern about the potential misidentification of containers of the same color.
More than half of those who responded to an AHRI survey of refrigerant handlers found that container colors had caused confusion. This confusion was likely to increase as new refrigerants were added to the market.
AHRI said it will continue to assign individual PMS ink colors for printed materials, including only the product label on packaging and container cartons. The guideline already calls for all flammable refrigerants to include a red band on top of the container. As with all AHRI standards and guidelines, Guideline N can be downloaded from the AHRI website.
