Well, it Looks like the EPA Just Made Your Home Airconditioner Obselete...

[Chuckiechan]

R-22 Refrigerants

The cost of keeping your home cool is rising
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- With the heat we're feeling, many homeowners are discovering that it's gotten a lot more expensive to keep their homes cool.
The cost of cooling homes is rising because the cost of the Freon gas used in most air conditioners is skyrocketing. The reason -- new EPA regulations.
The next time you call someone like Danny Crimmens to come fix your air conditioner, be prepared for sticker shock when you get the bill.

Repairing leaky air conditioners has never been as expensive as it is right now.

The problem is the rising cost of R-22 Freon gas, the most common coolant used in both home and business air conditioners for some 40 years. In 2010, the EPA began phasing out R-22 because of concerns that it damaged the ozone layer.

"So what everybody did is agreed that beginning in 2010, they would start phasing out R-22, and phase it out over a 10-year period through 2010-2020," said Richard Ciresi, president of AireServ Heating and Cooling.

But then, last year, the EPA changed the rules. Instead of phasing out R-22 at a rate of 10 percent per year, the EPA proposed an immediate 35 percent reduction.

"Well, the moment that proposal hit the street, the price of the refrigerant R-22 tripled literally overnight," said Ciresi.

Tripled from about eight-dollars a pound to 25-dollars a pound. And much of that cost is being passed on to consumers.

"Our price just escalated wildly, some of which we tried to absorb to help our customers."
And it's going to get worse before it gets better. The closer we get to 2020, the more scarce and more expensive R-22 gas will become.

So, many homeowners will face a dilemma -- whether to pay the skyrocketing cost of repairing an older air conditioner, or buying a newer model that does not use R-22 gas.

"If someone has an old R-22 unit and maybe it needs a $500-600 repair, it's probably time to start looking at going ahead and replacing it because the next repair may be $1000 or $1200. We don't know what that number is going to be," said Ciresi.

If your air conditioner was installed before around 1997, it's more likely that it uses R-22 gas. The good news is that modern units are more efficient, and you'll save on your energy bill.
Copyright 2012 WDRB News. All Rights Reserved.

Only rich people making over $250k have air conditioning, so this sudden shortening of the timetable only affect "that other guy"...

[Theophylact]

If your air conditioner was installed before 1997 it's probably on its last legs.

[Epidemic]

My friend's is 1999 is that young enough to be concerned? When did they stop manufacturing and selling R22 HVAC systems?

[Chuckiechan]

They have increased the phase out of R22 from 10% per year to 35%.

And new 2 ton unit runs around $ 2500 so I'm told. The ID plate should tell you what kind of freon it uses.

[SpywareDr]

EPA.GOV - Ozone Layer Protection - Regulatory Programs
What You Should Know about Refrigerants When Purchasing or Repairing a Residential A/C System or Heat Pump

[Epidemic]

If your air conditioner was installed before 1997 it's probably on its last legs.

What You Should Know about Refrigerants When Purchasing or Repairing a Residential A/C System or Heat Pump | Ozone Layer Protection - Regulatory Programs | US EPA

it looks like up until jan-1 2010 new R22 systems still were available .

[Chuckiechan]

Does anyone have any figute as to how many billion dollars worth of air conditioners the EPA bureaucrats just make obsolete, apparently just for the hell of it?

[pickel]

Ours is 25 years old and still going strong !!

Here's the NEW R22: R22 A

22a Refrigerant Details and Online Ordering at Enviro-Safe, Inc

Just DON"T light a match !!!


Refrigerant (R22A) - China R12 Refrigerant,F22 Refrigerant,Hcfc-22 Refrigerant in Gas


WARNING: Only for professional qualified technician, Unsuitably uses will cause serious bodily injury.

1. Avoid violent vibration, Overheating, pressurizing will cause explosion.


Send a can to your worst enemies !!

[Dude111]

Ours is 25 years old and still going strong !!

Yes as stuff was made MUCH BETTER then


I thought they BLOCKED FREON YEARS AGO! (That new stuff they have been putting in car air conditioners SUCKS the last few years!!!!!!!! -- Hardily cools the car down @ all in some of them!!!)

[Epidemic]

I pumped 134 into all my car air conditioners and they keep on truckin.

Cool as a cucumber in my old beaters.

[pickel]

I pumped 134 into all my car air conditioners and they keep on truckin.

Cool as a cucumber in my old beaters.

Did you use the "Retro" kit...Seals, oil, etc. ????

[sharder8]

Did you use the "Retro" kit...Seals, oil, etc. ????

I did in a couple of my older vehicles . . . worked GREAT!

Harder

[tony_j15]

Does anyone have any figute as to how many billion dollars worth of air conditioners the EPA bureaucrats just make obsolete, apparently just for the hell of it?

Methinks you should give yourself a little edjimacation and read the link Spyware and Epi posted. It's amazing how many questions can be answered when we bother to explore and study.

[Epidemic]

Did you use the "Retro" kit...Seals, oil, etc. ????

My kit was an adapter and some r134 done.

[Chuckiechan]

Methinks you should give yourself a little edjimacation and read the link Spyware and Epi posted. It's amazing how many questions can be answered when we bother to explore and study.

Maybe you should read it. The issues wasn't' phasing out R22, it was shortening the timeline via bureaucratic fiat.

And retrofitting the AC unit has got to be expensive, and so does changing out your old one. You always seem to care about the poor, etc., so why stick them with an unnecessary expense just because "some bureaucrat said so"?

[brandon184]

It's a necessary expense to reduce our impact on the environment.

[Chuckiechan]

It's a necessary expense to reduce our impact on the environment.

Are you paying the bill? Please post your address...

[brandon184]

No, I have never paid the bill for any air conditioner repair, including my own, despite the units running faithfully through our warm prairie summers and enduring the outdoor elements in our harsh winters. Which makes me wonder how often they tend to require repair, despite your doomsday implications in this thread that current A/C owners will surely be bankrupted.

As far as people paying for things, are you willing to pay for environmental reclamation? R-22 is 1800 times more potent as a global warming agent than carbon dioxide.

Please post your address.

[Chuckiechan]

They run for a long time and rarely lose the freon... which brings up the point of why it's such a big deal. Autos use R12 and they are the ones losing the freon due to the harsh environment and accidents.

The issue is that a time table was agreed on and a bureaucrat just up and changed it. Are you aware of the shortened "death date"?

[brandon184]

The issue is that a time table was agreed on and a bureaucrat just up and changed it.

The article you posted doesn't say that.

It says that the EPA "proposed" changing it from 10% a year to an immediate 35% reduction. And what proof is there that this was a single "bureaucrat" acting on a whim, as you imply, and not a result of a deliberate process on the part of competent, knowledgable individuals working in the best interest of the American public? The EPA has an abundance of data on which to base it's decisions, or in this case, proposals.