Environmentally Friendly Freon

What is Freon, and why do you care about it? Well, Freon is the chemical that works to cool your home via your air conditioner. Recently, the EPA passed regulations that attempt to control certain types of Freon because they have been found to be environmentally harmful. Here is what you need to know about Freon, what it does to the environment and how it is currently regulated.

Ozone and the Ozone Layer

As scientists began to investigate the atmosphere more closely in the late 1970s, they discovered that there is a chemical layer to the atmosphere known as the ozone layer. Ozone, made of three oxygen atoms, is a chemical that is critical for filtering out harmful UV radiation.

As more scientists investigated, they quickly found that certain chemicals that were being dispersed into the atmosphere were working their way into the ozone layer and breaking up the ozone. While ozone is naturally created by heat and lightning, natural processes weren’t fast enough to overcome this new artificial chemical depletion.

Freon and your Air Conditioner

Many devices use Freon as a refrigerant, refrigerators and air conditioners being the most common. During the normal functioning of these devices, Freon will escape from these systems and into the atmosphere. Certain types of Freon will disperse into the ozone layer, creating the rapid depletion that scientists discovered. Because of this, the EPA has decided to regulate the production of certain types of Freon for use in devices. Since these regulations are relatively new, many newer systems have the regulated Freon in them.

Types of Freon

Older AC systems use Freon R-22. Newer systems use an updated chemical formula called R-410A. The bad news is that systems cannot switch between the two effectively. This means that if your system is older and uses the R-22, there is no way to convert it to R-410A without buying an entirely new unit. Since your Freon tank will need to be refilled periodically, this means at some point you are going to have to have an HVAC contractor come and refill your Freon tank with R-22.

More Bad News for R-22 Users

The EPA’s regulations work by slowly increasing the cost to produce R-22. Right now an HVAC contractor will pay about $400 for a full tank of R-22 and will charge you between $100 and $200 to refill your tank. As time goes on, however, that cost is going to rise.

As more and more R-22 tanks are phased out, the cost is going to rise sharply to have your tank filled with the old formula. Eventually the cost of refilling your tank is going to be so high that you will need to just replace the unit, as that will be cheaper than the refill.

If you are in the market for an air conditioning repair or placement, click here for a free custom quote from local HVAC contractors. You’ll receive your quote in just minutes. Best of all, no contact information is required!

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