Can’t believe we’re still dealing with this problem in 2013. Ten years ago the United States Federal Government promised that by this time it would be illegal for manufacturers to produce equipment that still worked on the old R22 refrigerant. Loop-hole… the legislation only said R22 bearing equipment. So for now some manufacturers are still producing R22 equipment and shipping it without a refrigerant charge.

Here in the San Marcos, Buda, Kyle and New Braunfels are of Central Texas, R22 condensers and air handlers are still very much available from a number of different manufacturers. As a result, it is still possible to keep extending the operating life of R22 systems by replacing only a failed condenser or an evaporator coil or air handler. The decision to keep old R22 systems operating may be a reasonable and necessary short tem financial solution, however, there will be a long term price consequence. Chances are, that the additional energy savings of a system replacement will cover the added R410A system cost in just a few short years. Any warranty you receive on your new R22 system component is not going to cover the R22 refrigerant and it’s ever increasing price tag.

R22 or R410A … The answer is R410A and has been for ten years. Why? The cost of R22 and the replacement refrigerants are extremely expensive due to the government keeping its promise to phase out R22 production. Investing in an air conditioning system that should last for 20 years that runs on a refrigerant that isn’t going to exist at any price … is not a wise move. R22 replacement refrigerants are beginning to emerge, but don’t expect them to be cheap and/or trouble free.

R410A condensers, air handlers, and evaporator coils should be installed as complete and matched systems. There are some exceptions … under the right set of circumstances … that may allow you to spread the expense of replacing an entire system all at once and still work toward installing a complete R410A compatible system one piece at a time.

Contact an AirOne Heating and Air Conditioning professional and we’ll be happy to help you find the best solution for your situation.