So I believe most everyone knows by now of this R22 Freon Ban a popular refrigerant that was used in air conditioners across the USA for the better part of the last 40 years or so. I still to this day find these machines and the result is often to replace this with air conditioners that use the newer refrigerant R410a Puron, that is often confused with the latter.
Up until about a few years ago it was sometimes feasible to just repair an R22 Freon machine, however this refrigerant has now become so costly it is almost always better to replace the equipment for a new air conditioner that uses R410a Puron. R22 Freon was banned because the chemicals in which it is made from contain chlorine and it was deemed unfriendly to the ozone layer in the atmosphere where it was cutting holes in that layer. (A layer in the stratosphere that protects the earth from UV rays of the sun)
R410a Puron Phase Down
R410a is set to be phased down for entirely different reasons than destruction of the ozone layer. There was an amendment to the Montreal Protocol in 2016 known as the Kigali Amendment. The reason why you may not have heard or know of this until now is that due to Trump being elected US President later in 2016 of that year the Trump adminstration ignored the Kigali Amendment thru out his adminstration.
What one adminstration can ignore, another can change course and expedite things under a Global Warming national emergency header. However, as I share this topic and delve deeper into where things are one thing will become abundantly clear. There is no perfect solution to this problem. It’s primarily a cat and mouse game at this point. (As of May 2022 things don’t look that great.)
In an attempt to give you a clear understanding of this topic I made a video what / how / why and when this is due. This video below is only a starting point to show how we got to this point. Video embedded below.
The cost of R22 Freon is primarily what is driving new replacements of air conditioners in my area of Katy, Texas which is a hot climate in which we run our air conditioners 9-10 months of the year most years. The con in all of this is you won’t live in Katy, Texas climate without air conditioning.
So essentially any AC you buy in 2022 will come with R410a. There’s no problem in that just on it’s own provided of course that new unit doesn’t spring a refrigerant leak. Oh well I have a warranty so you might think you’re ok until you dig out that warranty certificate to find out refrigerants are not covered by any manufacturer.
Refrigerant Wars
There are so many ways to slice and dice this… there are no easy answers I can assure you of that. So what can you do?
Educate yourself, I lay it out for you cut and dry this subject will be long. Don’t do your homework plan on an empty wallet no other way around that. If spending hours trying to educate yourself on such things is not your thing and you live in the Katy, Texas area? You could call me my name again is Ray Austin. Your own personal easy button. I will lay out your options for you considering your situation (whatever that may entail). Call me at 832-475-6895
Here is the start of a multi part discussion of possible future refrigerants, each of which will require new air conditioning equipment. No free lunch here. I decided to call this Freon Wars and you’ll see why as I post additional parts to this blog post.
Here is the second part 2b to refrigerant (freon) wars saga.
Here is the third part 2c to refrigerant (freon) wars saga.
Stay tuned / book mark this post as I will update it as things move along. Should know more the closer we get to 2023. Thanks for watching and thank you for visiting with me today.
About the Author of this blog post:
My name is Ray Austin owner/operator of Austin Air Companie a small HVAC service company that services the Katy, Texas area and some surrounding areas. I write my own blogs, I make my own videos, No investors, no intimidation to tell you like it is. My HVAC career is 28 years long, 14 of which running and operating my own HVAC service company.
If you call me, you will get me. There is no technician roulette wheel to spin here at Austin Air Companie.
Did you know that HVAC is often times a game of cat and mouse? You see early on in my HVAC career I was forced to run calls for free. Because the managers / owners of the company I worked for were into games of tricking people. The advertisements were geared toward making the phone ring (promising free this or that). Then to make those advertisements pay off I was told to sell new systems. You have to do that to pay for those fancy advertisements from the TV. In 2022 advertising costs are even higher not to mention the cost of everything.
If you are calling me I will inform you of all choices even repairing your air conditioner. I am skilled in working for you, not just recommending something that is only beneficial to me. It’s about providing you an air conditioning service that you can rely on. I will do my best to explain the risks of doing what you decide to do. That is what a skilled HVAC contractor can do for you.
If I ran service calls for free now with gas prices where they are up over $4 a gallon currently. That isn’t wise financially. I have to remain in business to serve the customers I have already. As I lay out things that are changing in the HVAC industry in this Katy Texas AC Blog post you need a skilled HVAC contractor more than ever. Unless of course you are naturally wealthy and can afford to replace your AC equipment over and over again.
The choice is yours to make. I lay it out for you then you choose what you think is best for you and your situation. If something else happens? Call me again. You will always need a good HVAC repair man, more so now than any other time before.
Before I get started with this subject realize that HVAC subjects of this nature are geared toward the climate I live in. I am a small HVAC service and repair company serving the Katy, Texas area and some surrounding areas.
I often choose these kinds of subjects based upon what I am currently witnessing in home AC repair solutions and those who may call some other company and are often times told they need to replace their whole HVAC system (heating and cooling) as opposed to just repairing it.
There are many reasons why it may make sense to replace your entire HVAC system just as much as it might be more beneficial to merely repair it. The reasons for doing it one way (repair system versus replace) may make more sense simply due to what is happening in the current HVAC market regarding new efficiency regulations that are about to take shape. However, in some situations it may not be worth repairing your system. I can only offer you ways forward from looking at your system in person. Much of this is a judgment call based on 28 years of doing HVAC for a living.
In this embedded video below I show several jobs I’ve performed over the past year or so. I also touch base on some other important info such as Freon Leak Sealers as well as gimmick providers that like to advertise on TV. You have to pay attention to get it.
DOE Energy Efficiency Requirements
DOE is an acronym for Department of Energy. Over the course of the past couple of decades changes have been made to require manufacturers to hit various efficiency thresholds. These requirements are getting ready to change again, the time in which they will is not just yet. They are coming. The picture currently isn’t quite clear. I expect this new equipment to start showing up later this year or early next year in my market. (Other markets may experience this sooner than mine, notably the California market.)
So if you replace a HVAC system now (this year 2022 in Texas) you will get the old efficiency requirement. R410a, the refrigerant used in all new AC & heat pump systems currently (2022) is in the midst of a phase out that is coming in California in 2023 and else where shortly thereafter (2024-2025).
New DOE efficiency requirement changes are due around the same time frame. The new refrigerant replacing R410a and the equipment supporting it are not yet available. It is expected to start showing up in my market (Katy, Texas area) sometime later this year and or early next year. There will likely be complications to these changes.
My opinion is that this probably won’t pay you to be an “early adopter” of the new technology that is due with in the next 2-3 years. (Early 2022 when this blog post was created.)
Eventually you won’t have a choice, or the choices you do have will have certain risks attached to them as in the cost of the refrigerant that is used to operate the AC system or Heat pump.
The Implementation of SEER2 for AC Efficiency
Currently Manufacturers use SEER. Which is an acronym of seasonal energy efficiency ratio. It is a ratio of efficiency that give you a round about way of knowing given certain climate conditions how much that selection of equipment will cost you to operate it. The higher the number the more efficient or “cheaper” it is to operate it by running it. The more you run it, the more you will save because it’s efficient.
This is similar to mpg in a car. If a car gets 30 miles to every gallon of gas, it is more efficient than a car that only gets 10 miles to every gallon of gas. The difference in a car that doesn’t make sense when applied to HVAC is that the car that gets only 10 miles the gallon is that it has higher performance, than that of a car that gets 30 miles to the gallon.
SEER2 is a new equation that does away with the old SEER equation. Because of this change, it is estimated by one equipment manufacturer that upwards of 70% of the equipment they make now (2022) will not meet the new SEER2 requirements. The benefit is that the Equipment made using the new SEER2 equation will be more efficient than the older SEER equation that it is replacing.
So for someone looking for a completely new HVAC system, now (2022) is not the best time to do so. If your HVAC system is older like 20 years or more this is going to bring you to a complex decision. If you live in or close by the Katy, Texas area I have helped hundreds and hundreds of your neighbors over the course of the last 14 years since I started my HVAC company in the latter part of 2008. There is a cost to come out, but that initial cost can be credited to any work you want me to do for you. You can call me at 832-475-6895.
The reason why older systems bring a harder decision that that a good number of them use R22 Freon. Usually these AC systems are leaking refrigerant, the only real way forward for most of these kinds of AC systems will most likely be replacement. Your choices will be few right now. If you can repair it, that repair will be costly and then you still have an old system that may not last. This comment is mostly to do with a hot climate in which I serve. If you lived in a more mild climate, I might have a different opinion. Just so you understand the context for what I am talking about.
In Katy, Texas we use our AC’s for upwards of 9 to 10 months of the year most years. That’s a lot of wear and tear. So you the reader understand why climate concerns play and important role as to the information you use to make a decision.
Freon Refrigerant Leaks, Home Ownership & HVAC
I recently visited a home in which the Evaporator coil was leaking Freon. R410a to be exact, but people still refer to this refrigerant as Freon.
The system in question was roughly 8 years old. The home owner had gotten a quote from another company and that company was pressuring him to replace everything. New furnace, new E-coil and new AC condenser. While it’s always an option to replace everything to fix a problem with your existing system, the more you replace the more it costs. If what you are replacing it with will be obsolete in a short amount of time, that’s not a *real* solution in my book. Certainly in some cases if your current system is older then a completely new HVAC system may be what you need.
I was at another home recently on an AC system that I personally replaced about 8 years ago. Different brand than the customer that I mentioned prior. Ironically the same failure. This is partly another reason I bring up this point is that brands don’t matter as much as you think they do. (Some people already realize this game for what it is, if you don’t yet — you will by the time you reach my age.) I am considered a straight shooter, tell it like it is kind of guy.
If you’re looking to higher efficiency, saving money on running your AC you have to go to a more major brand of HVAC. Generic brands, often called the value brands only make entry level efficient systems. Which essentially means the lowest efficiency they can make allowable by law. (DOE & EPA more or less determine what HVAC manufacturers can and can’t do.)
So that previous customer of mine has an older furnace. Because 8 years ago we didn’t replace that furnace. But upon inspecting it, still operational at this point and no real reason to replace it now as the DOE changes coming up it is better to wait. Our heating season in Katy, Texas is very short. So gas furnaces here get more of a work out in AC mode than they do in heating mode.
Different Climates, Different Concerns (location)
If you found this blog and live in a different climate, your concerns will likely be very different than the concerns in my climate in Katy, Texas. Comfort means different things to different people, no two of us are exactly alike. The other point in this part of the blog post about home ownership is how long do you plan to live in the home? If that estimation is short, any efficiency improvements may not fully pay for themselves.
The higher efficient systems cost more. Typically the difference in cost from a regular AC will be made up in a short amount of time. But the full cost of the improvement is likely to be in the 12 to 15 year range. Having a more efficient system will probably help you sell the house, but in current real estate markets homes are snapped up regardless because of scarcity, not what kind of HVAC system the house has.
If you need a new AC system anyway and you don’t plan to move or sell your home a choice to boost efficiency can recoup the difference from the run of the mill replacement AC to the more efficient AC. Air conditioners have come a long way. If the difference from one option is a few thousand dollars, that difference can be recouped rather quickly via the reduction of up to 50% in your electric usage. Then in only a few short years, you got the better AC system for essentially the cost of the entry level AC. (Note: not all AC’s can make this leap, this isn’t a gimmick.)
I’ve been repairing and fixing air conditioners longer than some of you have been alive. Like cool stories with good endings? Here’s some more for ya… I know the internet is a tricky place. Anyone can say anything. I’m not just anyone. I am Ray Austin. 😉
About the author of this air conditioning blog post:
My name is Ray Austin. Thank you for visiting with me today. I write all my own blogs, tell all my own stories in terms of various HVAC repairs made for others. Over the past few years the challenges have been extraordinary, from getting parts to finding equipment. I come well versed in these things even in these extraordinary times we find ourselves in.
Due to the nature of these pending efficiency standard changes the brand name won’t make any real difference. Once refrigerant changes / efficiency standards are changed the HVAC market will head that way. Certain HVAC equipment will become obsolete more or less over night. That situation will only effect you if & when your HVAC system breaks. This could be as short as a few short years for Katy, Texas area.
Regardless of HVAC brand, they all break. Look who you’re talking to? While there may be some opinions that the R410a refrigerant phase out will look something like R22 Freon phase out, I remain skeptical primarily because it is much harder to produce R410a AND Europe is mostly using R32 right now. (There is little reason to keep producing it.)
If your HVAC system can be repaired now, you may skip the costly replacement that may be short lived. The climate of Katy, Texas forces you to make a decision. Going without AC in this market? In my opinion that is not an option.
You will always need a good HVAC contractor in the Katy, Texas area. Ray Austin is a 28 year veteran of the HVAC business. I have 14 years of experience running and operating my own HVAC company. I have an AOS degree in HVAC, Universally certified in handling any refrigerant, Texas HVAC licensed TACLB28416E and insured.
Got an AC problem at your home in or near Katy Texas? Call Ray at 832-475-6895
Avoid the salesman mantra, call an HVAC contractor – call Ray Today!
This time of the year for the Katy, Texas area it is not uncommon for electric bills to start inducing a bit of shock and awe into people. This blog post is for the Katy, Texas area primarily because we run and depend on our AC systems upwards of 10 months of the year most years. If you keep your dial set at 75F degrees that is around 2300 hours. That’s alot of run time. If you like it cooler than 75F in your home, your AC system is running much more than normal. If the AC operational cost is 65% of your homes utility cost and you are running the AC really hard? Well there’s good reason why your electric bills are high, but sometimes this is more complicated than you think.
UPDATE: June 10, 2021. New embedded video below updating my own personal experience & better describing what this new air conditioning technology is, how it works and why you’ll likely want one.
Complications of high light bills is that no two people pay the same electric rate any more. So part of your problem *may be* that you are paying a higher rate than you should. But fear not… I break this down like no one. Because I made some upgrades at my own home in late 2019. I saved some old light bills to show you comparisons of how my old 14 SEER single speed AC performed versus the new 18 SEER Inverter AC.
To find out if this new technology may be right for you? You must schedule an in house visit. There is a cost for this service. It is to determine if this is right for you or not. This can only be done in person & you must be the owner of the home in question. This is not for renters. To get on my schedule call Ray Austin at 832-475-6895.
Whoa, Inverter AC? What’s that? It’s a recent new comer to this market. As with everything especially Air Conditioners there are pros and cons to this. However, I think the pros outweigh the cons and because this new machine has the ability to cut your light bill in half. That alone makes it worth the risk. (It pays for itself.) Is it for everyone? Probably not. If you like it cool with less humidity in your home there isn’t anything that I know of that can beat it. Obviously the more AC systems you have at your home, the more it will cost. It involves equipment replacement to various degrees. But it is a smarter overall solution as there are no proprietary controls to worry about as well as a few other perks.
Even if your AC is less than 10 years old, this *might* still cut your electric bill in half. It’s not just a run of the mill new air conditioner. It’s an air conditioner that ramps up and down depending on the heat load on the home. Your current AC is probably either on or off. This air conditioner has many different speeds. This is how it saves you money off your electric bill. Then all you have to do is find a good electric rate and you’re set.
How much could you save every month? If your AC is really old like 15 years or more… you’ll wonder why you didn’t look into this sooner.
Air Conditioning Contractor Cuts His Electric Bill In Half With New Inverter Air Conditioner
Here’s some proof to back up what I am saying. The reason I am comparing to 2018 is that I paid a higher rate in 2019, I am trying to be as fair as possible here. This isn’t a gimmick. (nor is it solar panels, the biggest caveat with solar is no room to put them + higher up front cost). These bills are for my home in Katy, Texas a single story home 1910 square foot, with 1 HVAC system configured as 4 Ton Inverter AC system. (over 50 speeds the compressor runs in.)
AC efficiency comparison
May 2020: The savings are ramping up!
High electric bills comparison
June 2020: The savings holding steady at 50% reduction. It’s been HOT!
June 2020 Electric bill comparison
July 2020: Man you thought it was hot in June? Really hot this month, the savings take a turn higher! Wow! Over $100 in savings, that’s awesome!
July 2020 Electric Bill Savings Ramp up
Comfort means different things to different people. Some will disregard what it costs to operate the machine, they are more worried about the upfront cost not realizing that buying a better machine will eventually pay for itself via a reduction in the cost to run it. Obviously if you don’t run the machine you have now because you like it hot in your home, then the machine you have now is good for you.
If you like it cool like 75F or lower, this new machine may be the one you’ve been looking for. Thank you for visiting with me today! As always I hope your day is comfortable.
About the author of this Katy, Texas Air Conditioning blog:
My name is Ray Austin. I am the owner and operator of Austin Air Companie, a HVAC Service Company serving Katy, Texas | Cypress, Texas | Richmond, Texas and some surrounding areas. I am a Texas Licensed HVAC Contractor with 26 years experience in Air Conditioning and Heating Systems as of August 2020. I hold an AOS degree in HVAC/R, EPA universally certified to handle any refrigerant and NATE certified in HVAC installations and repairs. I also own and operate a Rental Real Estate business. I know real estate! It’s unlikely to find another company truly like me. When I say ‘Service’: I actually mean it.
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