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An important change just
around the corner is the
phase out of R-22. By 2010,
just 1 year from now, all new
air conditioners and heat
pumps will be required to
use "environmentally sound" refrigerant, such as Puron®.
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Today, most residential
homes have air conditioning
or heat pump products that
use Freon® 22.
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"Another factor to consider
these days is the use
of environmentally friendly refrigerants....Carrier is
the first manufacturer
in the industry to offer
Puron®--an environmentally
sound refrigerant....that
offers high efficiency
and long-term cost
savings to homeowners."
--Consumers Digest,
May/June 1998 | |
Freon® 22, an HCFC also known as R-22, is a harmful refrigerant according to the Clean Air Act of 1990. It will be phased out of use and homeowners will soon have to turn to Puron® refrigerant to maintain their indoor comfort.
Puron®, also known as R-410A, is approved by the EPA to replace Freon® 22 and is the world's first, long-term solution to ozone depletion.
Freon® 22 Phase Out
Freon ® 22 is the most commonly used refrigerant in residential homes today. However, per the Montreal  Protocol, caps have been established to eliminate the production of Freon ® 22.
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In 2004, there was a 35% reduction in R-22 production based on 1996 levels. See green bar in the graph shown at right.
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In 2010 there will be a 65% 75% reduction in R-22 production (accelerated by 10% at the 20th anniversary meeting of the Montreal Protocol agreement in September 2007. This amendment was a unanimous decision.) In addition, manufacturers will be forced by the government to sell only non R-22 bearing equipment. There's a scramble in the market today to re-design and re-tool factories to accommodate this rule.
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In 2015 a 90% reduction
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Finally in 2020 a 99.5 % reduction in the production of R-22. This means that during the time of these reductions with high demand as indicated by the pink bar in the graph shown at right, the law of supply and demand will prevail with the price of each pound of refrigerant increasing dramatically.
We've seen this before. In the late 1980's, environmental concerns led to a total phase out of R-12 (a CFC) in automotive air conditioners. If you owned a vehicle during that time, you may have experienced first-hand the rapidly rising costs of R-12, or the expense of upgrading to new technology. In fact, during the years 1990 to 1997, our costs for R-12 increased 650%.
What does all this mean?
Well, since the average age of an air conditioning system in Texas is around 12 years, this means that:
During the lifetime of an air conditioning system purchased today, R-22 will be completely obsolete and the manufacture of R-22 will be banned.
That's why we urge our clients to consider purchasing Puron®-based products rather than Freon®-based products. By choosing to purchase an air conditioner or heat pump with Puron® refrigerant, you can avoid the potentially higher service costs later. In addition, Puron based products are capable of obtaining higher SEER ratings. We do not advocate that consumers "have to" buy Puron, we just merely want to make them aware that a change is coming. R-22 will be around through 2020, but the question is: At what cost?
Who makes Puron® products?
There's been one manufacturer who has led the industry in designing and testing cooling equipment that uses Puron®. That manufacturer is Carrier. For nearly 14 years, Carrier has had Puron®-based products installed all over the United States. Today, Carrier has nearly 3 million 2010-ready units in the marketplace which is more than the rest of the industry combined. Puron®-based products have also been proven to be the most reliable in the marketplace and have gained recognition nationwide for dependable operation.
With more than 20,000 active AHRI-rated product combinations that use Puron® refrigerant, you can trust Carrier to have the equipment you want and need to meet tomorrow's standards.
Freon is a registered trademark of E. I. Dupont de Nemours & Co. |