We are tracking the EPA's final rule under the AIM Act allowing continued installation of residential and light-commercial units built or imported before January 1, 2025 that use R-410A, until pre-2025 inventory is depleted. The rule was published May 26, 2026 and takes effect July 27, 2026.
This removes the earlier January 1, 2026 installation deadline, an operational reprieve for R-410A-trained operators.
New York codified the original cutoff into state law, and the federal reprieve does not override it, so installers there must use A2L-compatible equipment regardless.
For diligence, advisory guidance cites a 0.25 times EBITDA discount on R-410A-heavy inventory and untrained benches, plus stranded inventory haircuts in roughly thirty-one percent of deals with field-van stock.
Our data indicates the long trajectory holds, since A2L equipment already reaches about ninety-one percent of new distributor sales. Platforms dense in New York face stricter rules than the federal baseline.