The epa has enacted legislation which will go into effect on january 1 2020 officially outright banning the production of r 22 refrigerant or freon as it s more commonly known.
New air conditioner freon.
R 22 is one of a number of gases marketed under the brand name freon and has been commonly used as a coolant in air conditioners heat pumps and other appliances.
Epa regulations require a ban on the production and import of r 22 refrigerant by january 1 2020.
R 22 is a hydro chlorofluorocarbon hcfc which contributes to ozone depletion.
R 22 is an extremely effective coolant which made it popular among hvac manufacturers for many years.
In this blog we will go over the epa s r22 phase out and other ozone depleting substances drop in refrigerants aka r22 replacements the theft of hcfc.
To help protect the ozone layer the epa has mandated that the production of freon be stopped by january 2020.
R22 also known as freon is the refrigerant liquid that air conditioners use to cool the air.
While it s not the only chemical that can do the job it s been the industry standard for decades.
It runs in a closed loop through the system absorbing heat from the air and distributing cool air in its place.
In today s world refrigerant is getting more expensive criminals are getting craftier and some others may be trying to find a cheap way to get high this is why we want to tell you about the new refrigerant laws you need to know.
Do you rely on snopes.
Often referred to by a brand name like freon as of 2010 r 22 was discontinued for use in new air conditioning systems.
The good news is that new air conditioning systems made since 2010 no longer rely on freon.
So that s why the refrigerant line has ice on it.
As of 2012 the heating ventilating and air conditioning hvac industry is in the process of changing over from ozone depleting r 22 refrigerant to environmentally friendlier r 410a refrigerant.
Freon based air conditioning systems will not have to be replaced by 2020 but over time it will become more and more difficult to obtain the hcfc 22 necessary to run them.
When the evaporator coil freezes cold liquid refrigerant flows through the refrigerant line causing the surrounding moisture in the air to freeze.
Low refrigerant means low pressure and low pressure means low temperatures that will eventually freeze something called an evaporator coil.
After 2020 any air conditioning or heat pump system using r 22 that requires servicing will have to depend on potentially expensive r 22 stockpiles or reclaimed refrigerant.