Refrigerants are probably one of the last things most people think about when they’re talking about restaurant equipment (the only exception is when their car’s A/C is out). But as 2014 grows to a coming close, the upcoming changes in the world of refrigerants grows more relevant.

It all began with the Montreal Protocol in 1987, as a direct response to reduce the chemicals responsible for depleting the ozone layer. This may not be as large a concern today, but in 1987, when the Montreal Protocol was initially signed by 20 countries (it has now since ratified by nearly 200 countries). Since the latest goal in 2010, America is expected to reduce the use of such harmful refrigerants by  75% of chemicals that are directly responsible for depleting the ozone layer (CFCs), and according to NASA the progress seems good. And by 2015, that number is expected to drop to 90. By the end of the decade, most hydrocarbon-based refrigerants will be banned completed.

What does this mean? This means, at least in the restaurant setting, that older restaurant equipment that use refrigerants such as R-22, R-134a, and most hydroflurocarbon-based refrigerants will have to be retrofitted by the end of the decade. While some replacement refrigerants do exist, you might have to do some retrofitting to make sure it works.

But keep in mind that a lot of this won’t happen for some time, but it will be important to keep in mind for the future. At the very least, the Frog will be ready.