- New
R-22 is expected to be available for the next 20 years. Recycled and
reclaimed R-22 makes the fluid likely to be available past the life of
all equipment installed until 2010. You can have confidence buying a
system using R-22 for the next 10 years. It’s simply not an issue today.
- R-22
is not likely to be subjected to major price increases like R-12
because of its widespread availability and a lengthy phase-out period.
- R-410A is a good alternative refrigerant, but it will be years before it serves the majority of applications.
- Homeowners
should select heating and air conditioning products based on
efficiency, reliability, durability and dealer recommendations, not on
the refrigerants they use.
- American Standard will
continue to manufacture heating and cooling products that offer
homeowners long-term peace of mind and comfort.
In 1987 the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement, established
requirements that began the phase-out of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) in developed
nations. These requirements were modified by various amendments, leading to the
complete phase-out of CFC consumption in 1996. The Copenhagen Amendment (1992)
brought HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) under control. These guidelines and
amendments have been implemented in the U.S. through various sections of the
Clean Air Act, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
An HCFC known as R-22 has been the refrigerant of choice for residential
heating and cooling systems for more than 40 years. Currently all major HVAC
manufacturers use R-22 in more than 95 percent of the systems they build. And,
although HCFCs are considerably safer for the environment (at least 95 percent
less damaging to the ozone layer than CFCs), they still contain chlorine, which
is an ozone-depleting chemical. The U.S. regulations under the Clean Air Act
targeted several dates of specific interest to the HVAC industry:
- January
1, 1996: A production cap was placed on a variety of HCFCs, including
R-22. This cap limited production in the U.S. to 15 million tons per
year. (Note: To date, demand has not reached the cap.)
- January
1, 2004: The cap will be reduced to a total production of 10 million
tons by banning the use of R-141B and R-142B, HCFCs used today as foam
blowing agents. This is intended to have no impact on R-22.
- January 1, 2010: HVAC manufacturers can no longer produce new air conditioners and heat pumps using R-22.
- January
1, 2020: Refrigerant manufacturers will no longer produce R-22 to
service existing air conditioners and heat pumps. (Recovery and
recycling will provide refrigerant for servicing installed systems
beyond 2020.)
However, and this is important to note, the Clean Air Act does not allow any
refrigerant to be vented into the atmosphere during installation, service or
retirement of equipment. Therefore, R-22 must be reclaimed (reprocessed to the same purity levels as new R-22),
recycled (for reuse in the same system) or destroyed. This means there will
be plenty of high-quality R-22 available for many years to come.
Manufacturers can build R-22 products until 2010, giving consumers a
10-year window in which they can continue to purchase these products
with confidence because of this availability.
Consumers can also feel confident that R-22 will be available at a
reasonable price beyond 2020. Many comparisons have been made between
the phase-out of R-12 (a CFC) and R-22 (an HCFC), but few similarities
actually exist. The major price increase that occurred with R-12
was largely due to a high government excise tax that was placed on it in
order to accelerate its phase-out. It is highly improbably that this will
occur with R-22. This refrigerant is significantly less damaging to the
ozone layer should it ever escape. And, there is a 20+ year phase-out
timeline firmly in place. Because R-22 will be readily available for many
years to come, market conditions will not be influenced by the same
volatility and forced acceleration campaign that surrounded the phase-out
of R-12.
As R-22 is gradually phased out of use over the next two decades, R-410A
will be phased in. R-410A is an HFC (hydrofluorocarbon) and is considered to
be the most likely replacement when R-22 is no longer used in residential
systems. However, as a point of clarification, units using R-22 will always
be serviced with R-22. They should never need to be changed or retrofitted
to a different refrigerant.
Puron is the trademarked name that one equipment manufacturer has given
to R-410A. However, developed by a major chemical company who refers to it
as Genetron® AZ-20**, this is not a proprietary refrigerant and is
available for use by the entire HVAC industry. Other manufacturers may adopt
similar positioning taglines as they begin to market new R-410A products, so
you can expect to see a variety of catchy monikers for R-410A in the coming
years.
The transition to R-410A requires that heat pump and air conditioning
systems be redesigned. R-410A is a refrigerant with operating pressures
almost 50 percent higher than R-22. Because of this, a redesign of the
compressor, as well as other components, is necessary. Additionally, since
R-410A demands special synthetic lubricants for the compressor, there are
compatibility issues with the lubricants, cleaners and other fluids used in
the manufacturing process. All of these issues must be carefully evaluated.
And, with these significant product and production process changes,
testing and training must change also. Dealers must be schooled in
stricter installation and service techniques required for working with
R-410A units and must obtain new recovery equipment and servicing tools,
as well. The Clean Air Act accommodates the magnitude of this total effort
by allowing a lengthy transition period for the phase-out of R-22. Another
reason R-410A is not widely in use is that industry production capacity
of the refrigerant is limited. It will take several years for the chemical
producers to gear up their production of R-410A for complete industry
transition by 2010.
Beyond regulating the use of certain fluids, the Clean Air Act also
mandated the use of common sense in dealing with refrigerants. By
containing and using refrigerants responsibly — that is, recovering,
recycling, reclaiming with the prevention of leaks — refrigerants
have no ozone depletion consequences. The Clean Air Act outlined specific
refrigerant containment and management practices for HVAC manufacturers,
distributors, dealers and technicians. The single best thing a homeowner
can do for the environment, regardless of the HVAC fluid used, is to
select a reputable dealer who employs service technicians that have
achieved Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification to handle
refrigerants.
It’s important to remember that properly installed home comfort
systems rarely develop refrigerant leaks. So, a system using either
R-22 or R-410A will have negligible impact on the environment for the
length of its lifespan.
After selecting a reputable dealer, the next best thing a homeowner can
do for the environment is to purchase a high efficiency home comfort
system. With carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions tied directly
to energy use, high efficiency heating and air conditioning systems make
a significant contribution toward reducing the global warming problem.
American Standard’s history of manufacturing efficient,
environmentally sound products culminated in the development of the
Allegiance and Heritage 16 comfort systems more than three years ago.
(The Allegiance 16 won kudos from Consumers Digest magazine when
it was named a Best Buy in Central Air Conditioning Systems in 1998.)
With a SEER up to 17.35, the Allegiance and Heritage 16 are among the most
energy efficient systems available in the industry today.
This same technical know-how and engineering expertise are currently being
utilized to develop systems using the new R-410A refrigerant. As we debut
this new generation of products, consumers can feel confident that American
Standard manufactures the most reliable, durable and efficient home comfort
systems available, regardless of the refrigerant utilized.
* Puron™ is a trademark of Carrier Corporation.
** Genetron® AZ-20 is manufactured by AlliedSignal Inc.
