Airedale by Modine: EPDs in the HVAC hot seat

Where Airedale by Modine shows up in specs

Data centers, life‑science labs, hospitals and industrial plants rely on Airedale’s precision cooling, chillers, air handlers and controls. Performance is non‑negotiable. Increasingly, transparency is too, especially when whole‑life carbon targets govern procurement.

Their environmental reporting today

Airedale has publicly embraced TM65 embodied‑carbon calculations and signaled intent to develop LCAs and EPDs across product lines. That puts them on the same learning curve as much of the MEP sector, where verified product EPDs are still emerging. If your team competes in similar HVAC categories, the window to stand out with robust declarations is open right now.

What an HVAC EPD for cooling equipment actually covers

For most HVAC equipment, the big levers are materials and manufacturing (A1–A3), transport to site (A4), installation consumables and refrigerant charge (A5), replacements and service over life (B parts), and end‑of‑life routes (C). Use‑phase energy usually dominates total climate impact, yet embodied impacts still move the dial in carbon‑budgeted projects. Think of the EPD as the box score that lets engineers compare like for like without guesswork.

The commercial stakes keep rising

Space heating, cooling and ventilation accounted for 46% of energy consumed by U.S. buildings in 2021, which keeps HVAC in every decarbonization conversation (EIA, 2023) (EIA, 2023). IEA expects U.S. electricity demand to grow about 2% annually in 2025–2027, with data centers a major contributor, which intensifies scrutiny on the efficiency and embodied profile of cooling systems (IEA Electricity 2025, 2025) (IEA Electricity 2025, 2025). In building services, embodied carbon is estimated at at least 30% of whole‑life carbon in new builds and up to 75% in retrofits, so credible product data directly affects selections and substitutions (CIBSE Journal, 2024) (CIBSE Journal, 2024).

Picking the rulebook and operator

Start with the dominant rulebook in your competitive set. For MEP, TM65 and TM65NA provide stopgaps where EPDs are scarce, but ISO 14025 and EN 15804 remain the north star once you publish. Program operators like IBU or Smart EPD frequently carry complex equipment, and selection often comes down to reviewer familiarity with HVAC, speed to publication, and your target markets.

Data you will need on day one

Bill of materials with alloy grades and electronics by mass, factory energy by process where available, refrigerant type and charge, packaging details, shipment weights and typical lanes, installation kits, scheduled replacements, service intervals, and dismantling assumptions. Map variants early. If the product family shares frames or coils, agree on a reference model and parametric rules so updates are not a slog later. A great partner will pull this from engineering PLM and procurement systems, not from your most time‑pressed engineers.

Designing for fast, comparable results

Engineers hate apples‑to‑oranges comparisons. Match your PCR choice to what specifiers already see from peers. Align declared unit to how the product is bought, for example one cooling unit at a named capacity, and be explicit about configuration. Publish a summary that sales can use in three clicks. When the next revision lands, you want renewal down to a playbook, not a reinvention.

Refrigerants, leakage, and the credibility test

Cooling equipment without a clear refrigerant accounting will raise eyebrows. Declare charge, typical leakage assumptions, and recovery rates at end‑of‑life. If you compete on lower GWP refrigerants or tighter systems, the EPD is where that claim becomes bankable. Forgetting this step is a reputational own‑goal.

What to watch in 2026

LEED v5 is elevating whole‑life carbon signals, and owner requirements are cascading into MEP submittals. TM65NA gives North American‑specific defaults that shorten analysis and help bridge to product‑specific EPDs when ready (CIBSE TM65NA, 2024). Expect buyers to prefer equipment with verified declarations, even when operational energy wins the headline.

A practical play for manufacturers in HVAC

Move fast on one flagship product per family, then scale. Choose a partner who handles data wrangling end to end, coordinates the PCR, and publishes with the operator suited to your markets. The payoff is commercial: fewer carbon penalties in bids, fewer substitutions, and more resilient specs. Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the published, even a first EPD can unlock oppportunities.