The following Viewpoint is written by Tristan Schwartzman, principal and director of energy services at Goldman Copeland, and Stephen Murphy, an energy engineer at Goldman Copeland The State of New York has implemented a new regulation to quantify and ultimately reduce leakage of hydrofluorocarbons, the greenhouse gases often used in refrigeration and cooling equipment. It’s part of implementation of the state’s Climate Act, and it directly affects commercial property owners, who should understand its implications and requirements for them. In the early 1990s, restrictions were placed on the use of R11 refrigerants, and later on R22 refrigerants, yet the question remains: What refrigerants are now being used and in what amounts, and how much is being released into the atmosphere through leakage? That’s why the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has adopted an amended Part 494 regulation on hydrofluorocarbons.…