Air Conditioner use refrigerants to absorb and transfer the heat from your home or business.
Many older Air Conditioning systems use R-22 refrigerant (Freon) to absorb the heat, however by mandate of the EPA, to reduce the negative impact it has on the ozone layer, the production of R-22 (Freon) was discontinued in January 2020. Since 2010, new air conditioners rely on a refrigerant called R410A (Puron).
How does this affect my air conditioner?
Due to the phaseout of R-22 (Freon), even minor problems on older models still using it are likely to be expensive and sometimes impossible to repair. If your system still utilized R-22, we highly recommend upgrading your cooling system to comply with regulations. Upgrading your system is not only more environmentally responsible but the latest models are more efficient which will reduce operation costs. You’ll enjoy superior cooling capacity, dehumidification, and air circulation all while reducing your electric bill.
If you do have an older system using R-22, you can be impacted in the following ways:
- While you can continue to use your existing system, R22 refrigerant will only be available by way of after-market sales (recovered from salvaged systems).
- The cost of R22 is only going up, making even minor refrigerant leaks a costly repair.
- Limited availability will make it much more difficult, if not impossible to recharge R22 refrigerant in the future.
Refrigerant Information for A/C Systems
You may also few additional phase-out detail from the EPA at this link:
