Freon 22 Phase Out - R22 Refrigerant Phase Out
Freon that's used in most older air conditioners (R-22) has already begun to be phased out.
However, R-22 will still be produced in decreasing quantities until 2020.
What does all this mean to the typical homeowner?
The choice at this point is dependant upon several factors:
-
How old is your indoor evaporator coil?
-
How old is your condenser?
-
Do you want the highest efficiency available?
-
Do you want a unit that is environmentally friendly?
-
What will be the cost of R-22 as supply goes down?
When you are replacing equipment with R410A the condenser and the coil must be matched. You can't have a coil that uses R-22 and a condenser that uses R410A. If one piece of your cooling equipment fails you will have to look at the age of the other component to make a choice. R-22 equipment is still available, but as time goes on the selection and efficiency range that is available will go down. In fact all manufacturers today are choosing to make their high efficiency equipment (14 SEER and above) with only R410A.
Because of this R22 phase out you may have to replace both the condenser and the coil, even if one of those components is still working.
Another factor to consider is the cost of R22 freon as the supply decreases. We saw R12 (which was phased out several years ago) go as high as $72 per pound. And when you consider that an average system uses about 12 lbs that could get expensive in a hurry.
Yet another consideration is the cost to our environment. HCFC's are known to deplete the ozone layer. So by choosing equipment that uses an alternative freon you are helping to preserve our environment.
This refrigerant phase out table was obtained from the EPA
Comparison of the Montreal Protocol and United States Phase out Schedules |
|||
Montreal Protocol |
United States |
||
Year to be Implemented |
% Reduction in Consumption, Using the Cap as a Baseline |
Year to be Implemented |
Implementation of HCFC Phase out through Clean Air Act Regulations |
2004 |
35.0% |
2003 |
No production and no importing of HCFC-141b |
2010 |
75.0% |
2010 |
No production and no importing of HCFC-142b and HCFC-22, except for use in equipment manufactured before 1/1/2010 (so no production or importing for NEW equipment that uses these refrigerants) |
2015 |
90.0% |
2015 |
No production and no importing of any HCFC's, except for use as refrigerants in equipment manufactured before 1/1/2020 |
2020 |
99.5% |
2020 |
No production and no importing of HCFC-142b and HCFC-22 |
2030 |
100.0% |
2030 |
No production and no importing of any HCFC's |