Thursday, December 8, 2016

R-22 is being phased out - Expensive Repairs.

Phaseout of Ozone-Depleting Substances.
We have recently been contacted by several people wanting to ask about the prices to repair or recharge their R-22 air conditioners or heat pumps. They want to know if their contractors are over charging them. Some contractors are charging $100.00 per pound of R-22 refrigerant to recharge units and some units hold as much as 20 pounds.
The sad truth is that R-22 refrigerant has been being phased out for years and the price for the refrigerant has skyrocketed. 
If you have an older air conditioner or heat pump and it develops a refrigerant leak you would be wise to replace the system not repair it. The older the system is the more likely it is to develop leaks. If you repair a leak, recharge the unit and then develop another leak you are wasting your money. All new air conditioners and heat pumps are designed to use refrigerant R-410a.
We want everyone to know that if you have an R-22 system and you wind up needing a refrigerant based repair you will be shocked at the cost.
You do not have to replace your system just because it has R-22 refrigerant in it but when it fails or develops a refrigerant based repair do yourself a favor and replace rather than repair.