Changes in Air Conditioning Refrigerants
New EPA regulations are requiring all air conditioners and refrigeration equipment produced after January 1, 2025, to use a new refrigerant that has a lower global warming potential (GWP)than the R410A currently in use. Equipment manufactured before January 1, 2025 can be installed only through December 31, 2026.
If you are thinking about upgrading your central air conditioning system, don’t wait! Call us today!
How this Impacts your Old System
When air conditioning was first commercialized and available for homes,R-12 was there refrigerant of choice. The damage to the ozone layer that was discovered in the 1960s and 1970s was traced to R-12 and similar products with high Ozone Depletion Potential(ODP) and high Global Warming Potential(GWP). Ozone was seen as the bigger concern, and industry moved to R-22, which had a lower ozone depletion potential but a high global warming potential, and then to R-410A, which has no ozone depletion potential but still a higher global warming potential. In 2023, the EPA passed new regulations for low GWP refrigerants for all cooling systems manufactured after January 1, 2025. The new refrigerants, R-454B or R32, have no ODP and a low GWP. Most major manufacturers of central air conditioners and mini-split heat pumps will be using R-454Bin new equipment. As with any mandated change in technology, the new equipment comes with a much higher cost, and we cannot simply replace your old refrigerant with the new one. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Using R-454B in a system made for R-410A is a fire hazard.
The good news is that R-410A-cooled systems are still available for the rest of 2024, and the supply of R-410A is not being hampered at this time. So, if you were not happy with your air conditioning system this summer, do not wait until the next year to upgrade. We do not know what the supply be at that time, and your choices may be limited. The transition from R-22 to R-410A began with the 2015 Montreal Protocol, which was revised the following year with the Kigali Amendment to phase outR-410Atoanon hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) product. In 2020, the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act was signed mandating the EPA to reduce the production of HFCs by 85% by 2035 and lowering the GWP standard, which is where the new refrigerants come in! Who knows what regulations will be coming next! But, since there is no expiration date on producing or using R-410A, the current refrigerant, you can get a new air conditioner today and use it for decades. Call us today to talk about your air conditioning needs. We can install a current system quickly and at the right price!