Old A/C maintenance costs force homeowners to fight global warming

Properly working A/C’s do not leak any refrigerant at all, so if a system needs refrigerant there is a leak somewhere. But as HVAC units age, leaks happen. Simply dumping more FREON, or R-22, into a slowly leaking system every season used to be the choice of many property managers and homeowners. A couple hundred dollars to re-charge and make it through the year was a better choice than a couple thousand dollars to replace the A/C. That R-22 cost has now quadrupled. Here’s why:

There are two major types of refrigerants used in home air conditioning systems:  R-22 and R-410a. The government banned the manufacture of systems that use R-22 in January 2010. However, R-22 is still commonly used to charge existing air conditioners. Since this regulation occurred several years ago, the number of old R-22 systems has decreased as systems have been replaced and old units have failed. This has therefore led to a decreased production of R-22 by manufacturers. Naturally, the price has skyrocketed for R-22 replacement refrigerant. It’s like trying to buy leaded gasoline now, 30+ years after its regulation. The price of R-22 doubled in 2012 and has re-doubled in 2013. Now, the cost to re-charge and repair a leaking system is near most replacement costs of a new R-410a system. Due to the higher pressures needed to be effective, 410a cannot be used in R-22 systems.

Essentially, economics drives environmental conservation. The government couldn’t force homeowners to replace their A/C units when it was determined that R-22 (which has chlorine in it) was depleting the ozone layer. Instead, they regulated it at the source knowing that supply and demand would lead to an economically driven better environment.

 

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