If your air conditioner uses R-22 refrigerant, your cost of comfort is about to rise. Read on for LM Wilson’s tips for homeowners with R-22 A/C units.
R-22 refrigerant ban
All air conditioners and heat pumps use some form of refrigerant in order to remove heat from your home during summer. For many years, R-22, or Freon, was the go-to product for HVAC contractors. However, in recent decades the EPA concluded that Freon depletes the ozone layer. As a result, R-22 is being phased out in several stages, with the final stage coming in 2020. At that time, all production of the refrigerant in the U.S. will be completely banned.
Rising cost of Freon
The slowing of R-22 production means that its supplies are becoming far less abundant. Subsequently, the price of R-22 is rising at an alarming rate. Right now, the cost of R-22 can be well over $100 per pound. And when production shuts down completely in 2020, supplies won’t only be expensive, but hard to find as well. In essence, you may have to stockpile your R-22 now in order to have a reliable supply that doesn’t rise in price each day! Needless to say, this is a stressful situation for any Burlington homeowner who just wants to stay comfortable this summer. So what’s the solution?
R-410A & A/C unit replacement in Burlington, NC
While R-22 harms the ozone layer, R-410A is a more environmentally friendly refrigerant that is fully approved by the EPA. Problem solved, right? Well, there’s a catch. R-410A is not compatible with air conditioners designed to use R-22. Therefore, in order to upgrade to R-410A, you’ll have to replace your air conditioner. Now, if you’re like many homeowners in our area, you’ll be tempted to take your chances with the Freon price hikes. Better than dropping thousands of dollars on a brand new air conditioner, right? Wrong. It’s true, a new air conditioner is an investment. But the benefits of a new A/C unit far outweigh the benefits of sticking with your old equipment. First of all, new HVAC systems are far more efficient than their older counterparts. That means that a new A/C unit will use less energy than your current model, saving you money on energy bills. The same goes for the refrigerant itself. R-410A is not only cleaner, it’s more efficient than R-22. An R-410A system will provide lower energy costs and need less repairs than an older, Freon-dependent system.
The choice is clear: It’s time to replace your old, inefficient R-22 A/C unit. Call LM Wilson today for your air conditioner replacement!
