You might not think often about how your air conditioner operates, but it depends on refrigerant to keep your home fresh. This refrigerant is subject to environmental laws, as it contains chemicals.

Depending on when your air conditioner was added to your home, it may require R-22, R-410A or R-32 refrigerant. We’ll go over the differences and which air conditioner refrigerants are being phased out in Litchfield Park, in addition to how these phaseouts have on influence on you.

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

If your air conditioner was put in before 2010, it likely contains Freon®. You can discover if your air conditioner contains it by contacting us at 623-208-6444. You can also examine the name plate on your air conditioner condenser, which is situated outside your house. This sticker will contain information on what model of refrigerant your AC has.

Freon, which is also called R-22, includes chlorine. Scientists consider Freon to be bad for the earth’s ozone layer and one that leads to global warming. The Environmental Protection Agency, which manages refrigerants in the United States, outlawed its manufacture and import in January 2020.

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

It depends. If your air conditioning is operating correctly, 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 summertime cooling bills!

If you don’t install a new air conditioner, it may create difficulties if you require air conditioning repair in the future, specifically for refrigerant. Repairs can be more expensive, since only reduced quantities of recycled and reclaimed R-22 is available.

With the discontinuation of R-22, most new air conditioners now rely on Puron®. Also referred to as R-410A, this refrigerant was created to keep the ozone layer healthy. Because it requires a varying pressure level, it isn’t compatible with air conditioners that use R-22 for cooling.

However, Puron still has the likelihood to create global warming. As a result, it could also ultimately be phased out. Although it hasn’t been disclosed yet for residential air conditioners, it’s expected sometime this decade.

What Refrigerant Will Take Over R-410A?

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

Cooler Tymes LLC Can Provide Support with All Your Air Conditioning Needs

In short, the changes to air conditioner refrigerant probably won’t concern you greatly until you require repairs. But as we discussed earlier, refrigerant repairs may be pricier since there are the reduced quantities on hand.

Aside from that, your air conditioner typically breaks down at the worst time, often on the muggiest day when we’re getting many other requests for AC repair.

If your air conditioner requires a phased out refrigerant or is aging, we advise installing a new, energy-efficient air conditioner. This provides a trouble-free summer and may even decrease your cooling bills, especially if you select an ENERGY STAR®-rated model. Plus, Cooler Tymes LLC offers many financing programs to make your new air conditioner even more affordable. Contact us at 623-208-6444 to begin today with a free estimate.