How Does Air Conditioning Refrigerant Phaseout Affect Me?

You might not think a lot about how your air conditioner works, but it requires refrigerant to keep your residence fresh. This refrigerant is controlled by environmental rules, as it contains chemicals.

Based on when your air conditioner was added to your home, it may need R-22, R-410A or R-32 refrigerant. We’ll review the differences and which air conditioner refrigerants are being phased out in Neptune City, in addition to how these phaseouts affect you.

What’s R-22 and Why Is It No Longer Being Made?

If your air conditioner was installed before 2010, it probably uses Freon®. You can find out if your air conditioner contains it by contacting us at 732-806-5536. You can also inspect the name plate on your air conditioner condenser, which is located outside your house. This sticker will have information on what kind of refrigerant your AC needs.

Freon, which is also called R-22, contains chlorine. Scientists consider Freon to be harmful to the earth’s ozone layer and one that prompts global warming. The Environmental Protection Agency, which controls refrigerants in the United States, banned its creation and import in January 2020.

I Use an Air Conditioner with R-22. Do I Need to Get a New One?

It differs. If your air conditioning is running as designed, you can continue to run it. With regular air conditioner maintenance, you can expect your system to operate around 15–20 years. However, the Department of Energy says that substituting a 10-year-old air conditioner could save you 20–40% on yearly cooling costs!

If you don’t replace your air conditioner, it might create a problem if you require air conditioning repair later on, specifically for refrigerant. Repairs can be more expensive, since only limited quantities of recycled and reclaimed R-22 is on hand.

With the discontinuation of R-22, many new air conditioners now use Puron®. Also referred to as R-410A, this refrigerant was created to keep the ozone layer in good shape. Since it requires an incompatible pressure level, it doesn’t work with air conditioners that rely on R-22 for cooling.

However, Puron still has the possibility to create global warming. As a result, it might also sometime be ended. Although it hasn’t been communicated yet for residential air conditioners, it’s likely sometime this decade.

What Refrigerant Will Take Over R-410A?

In preparation of the phaseout, some brands have initiated using R-32 in new air conditioners. This refrigerant is classified low for global warming possibility—around one-third less than R-410A. And it also lowers energy consumption by approximately 10%, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report. That’s savings that might be passed on to you through your cooling costs.

Aggressive Mechanical Can Assist with All Your Air Conditioning Needs

In summary, the changes to air conditioner refrigerant probably won’t concern you greatly until you have to have repairs. But as we talked about earlier, repairs connected to refrigerant may be more expensive due to the restricted amounts on hand.

Not to mention, your air conditioner typically stops working at the worst time, typically on the hottest day when we’re receiving a lot of other requests for AC repair.

If your air conditioner requires a phased out refrigerant or is aging, we advise getting an up-to-date, energy-efficient air conditioner. This ensures a trouble-free summer and can even lower your electrical costs, especially if you choose an ENERGY STAR®-rated air conditioner. Plus, Aggressive Mechanical has many financing options to make your new air conditioner even more affordable. Contact us at 732-806-5536 to get started right away with a free estimate.