“It’s safe to assume that the majority of homeowners in PHILADELPHIA are cooling their homes during the summertime with pre-2010 air conditioning systems,” said JOHN QUINN of Quinn’s Plumbing Heating Cooling. “But it’s not safe to assume that when these systems need repair, they won’t be affected by a 2010 ban of the use of R-22 refrigerant – also known as Freon – in new air conditioning systems.”
The federal ban on the use of R-22 refrigerant in new air conditioning systems took effect in January 2010. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, R-22 has been the refrigerant of choice for residential heat pump and air conditioning systems for more than four decades. Yet environmental concerns related to ozone depletion and greenhouse gases led the government to require an industry transition to systems that use another type of refrigerant.
“Unfortunately, these replacement refrigerants are incompatible with systems that use R-22, or Freon,” QUINN said. “While there is no new production of R-22, it will be available through a recycling process for the next several years. However, supply will surely tighten up before it’s unavailable altogether.”
The other side of this situation is that it is no longer attractive for air conditioning equipment manufacturers to make replacement parts for pre-2010 “orphaned” air conditioning systems,” QUINN added. “Without the right condenser, air handler or other parts, these systems are going to be hard to repair when a problem occurs.”
QUINN said Quinn’s Plumbing Heating Cooling is talking with their customers every day about the best options for reacting to the ban. “If your equipment is fairly new and operating well, this is certainly not an emergency. But once you’ve got some age, say, of more than 10 years, when your next repair comes, you should think seriously about replacing your system with a current model. You’ll avoid the non-repairable state that many are going to face at an inconvenient time, and you’ll also benefit immediately for the higher level of energy efficiency these new systems guarantee.”
To find out more, call us at (215) 242-6329 or visit https://quinnsphc.com.