Summer 2025

Are Natural Refrigerants Breaking Climate Change? IIAR’s Standards and the Evolving Global Cold Chain

As climate goals and efficiency become the central focus behind cold chain decisions, both at the individual and government level, natural refrigerants are becoming a global movement, increasingly unencumbered by regional political landscapes. In Latin America, a surge in CO₂ systems is happening, while in Europe, focus is growing on a policy-driven adoption of refrigerants like ammonia and hydrocarbons. The global regulatory landscapes remain uneven, but in many places, the tide is turning. Natural refrigerants are outgrowing national constraints, propelled by international climate agreements . . .

Summer 2025

Momentum Builds for CO2 at District Energy Conference

Nearly 900 district energy professionals from 30 countries convened in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the Annual IDEA District Energy Conference and Trade Show, held June 2–5, 2025, where the International Institute of All-Natural Refrigeration (IIAR) was invited to attend and contribute to IDEA’s business meeting. The meeting with IIAR was organized to explore ways for IIAR members and equipment manufacturers to expand the use of natural refrigerants—particularly in heat pumps and chillers—across the district heating and cooling industry.

Summer 2025

IIAR Exhibitors Plan for 2026 San Antonio Conference

The International Institute of All-Natural Refrigeration will host its largest-ever Natural Refrigeration Conference & Expo from March 15 – 18, 2026, in San Antonio, Texas—featuring a packed exhibit hall, approximately 30 educational sessions, including technical papers, white papers, workshops and panels as well as educational programming for students and end users. Rym Omniewski, IIAR’s Meetings, Conference & Expo Coordinator, said three new factors, introduced this year, are attracting interest from the event’s exhibitors and attendees.

Summer 2025

IIAR Suite of Standards Update: IIAR 5, 6, and 7 2025 Revisions Approved

The International Institute of All-Natural Refrigeration standards revisions presently has IIAR 2 under review for its targeted 2026 revision. Standards IIAR 4, IIAR 8, and IIAR 9 are currently open for review as well, and IIAR 5, IIAR 6, and IIAR 7 revisions were ANSI “approved” in July 2025. Meanwhile, IIAR’s first hydrocarbons standard is targeted for an ANSI approval in 2025, while the ANSI/IIAR CO2-2021 Safety Standard for Closed-Circuit Carbon Dioxide Refrigeration Systems is finalizing an Addendum A soon and will sequentially be opened for its targeted 2026 revision.

Summer 2025

IIAR to Release CO₂ Fact Sheet

In response to growing demand for accessible, technically sound guidance, the International Institute of All-Natural Refrigeration (IIAR) has released a new CO₂ Refrigeration Fact Sheet—a concise overview of the use of CO₂, including safety considerations, system guidelines, and design considerations. Additional fact sheets for ammonia and hydrocarbons will follow. IIAR Marketing Committee Chair, Stephanie Smith, said her committee was responsible for producing the fact sheets to help business owners choose which natural refrigerant applications may fit best for them.

Summer 2025

IIAR Peru Chapter Meeting Draws Full House, Focuses on Sustainability and Standards

The IIAR Peru Chapter's latest International Seminar, June 4-5, drew a packed house, with almost 300 attendees from over 14 countries and a high-caliber lineup of technical presentations, underscoring the region’s growing commitment to natural refrigerants and the standards that support them. Held in Lima, the two-day event maxed out its registration capacity and delivered what organizers called “a great industry turnout” with strong engagement from engineers, end users, and government representatives.

Summer 2025

IIAR Represents North America at World Refrigeration Day

In a year defined by climate urgency and supply chain volatility, the International Institute of Refrigeration, IIR, said it convened a landmark event in Paris to mark World Refrigeration Day 2025. With over 170 participants from 60-plus countries, IIR said the gathering spotlighted the global cold chain as the foundation of modern civilization and called on all countries to establish National Refrigeration Committees to take climate action.

Summer 2025

Know Your Incident Timelines

Like a good science fiction plot, any ammonia-related incident has two parallel timelines. Making sure you’re aware of both of them, even before anything happens, can make the difference between public relations and operational horror story, and a good outcome.

Summer 2025

Department of Labor Advances Regulatory Reforms

As the Trump Administration enters the second half of its first year, efforts continue to reform the structure and operation of the federal government. President Trump signaled deregulation would be a priority for his administration early in his term with the signing of an Executive Order entitled “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation." In his first term, President Trump implemented aggressive deregulation efforts by mandating that two federal regulations be eliminated for each new rule issued. The President has directed federal agencies to take an even bolder step by eliminating ten existing regulations for every new rule. Since the signing of the order, federal agencies have begun the process of identifying regulatory changes.

Summer 2025

Applying Psychrometrics in Refrigeration

Psychrometrics isn’t just a chart on the wall – it’s the language of air. And for many facility or production issues, speaking that language often means looking beyond refrigeration as the only option available to solve moisture control problems. “Refrigeration can only solve your moisture problem to a certain point, whereas with a desiccant, you can go way beyond what refrigeration alone can do,” said Tom Peterson, founder and CEO of Climate by Design International. Many people don’t think of applying psychrometrics as a solution to the problems they encounter because they’re just not used to a thought process that might involve beyond-the-refrigerant reasoning, he added. “Not everyone has that experience factor [that would lead them to consider psychrometrics]. They may have been taught to think only in tons of refrigeration, because our industry is so focused on refrigeration alone,” he said. “But there are limits to how dry you can get with just refrigeration before you start dealing with things like frost, sequential defrost, and other problems.”

Summer 2025

President’s Message

IIAR has created several different membership tiers to meet a wide range of needs. Individual Company membership is a single membership class where a member is registered under their company of employment. If additional employees from the company would like to join, companies can upgrade to a Group Membership, which includes up to 25 members. If companies would like to add more than 25 employees, they can do so at a significantly discounted rate, only $100.

Summer 2025

President’s Message by Gary Schrift

In this issue of the Condenser, we’re looking at how IIAR’s mission continues to shape the world of refrigeration, even as that world is constantly shifting. From our standards writing efforts to our training program development, the task of influencing and even guiding regulatory activity so that it keeps pace with new technology and an ever-evolving business landscape – falls to us.