Switching Coolants
As we discovered in our audit, the chillers use R22 refrigerant. Due to environmental concerns, R22 must be phased out by January 1, 2010. No new R22 can be manufactured for new equipment or imported into the US or Canada. On January 1, 2020, no new R22 refrigerant can be manufactured or imported into the US or Canada. Any servicing must be done using stockpiled or reclaimed material.Replacing R22 also would mean that the compressors would have to be replaced, not just retrofitted, so it would be very expensive. Also, it may take some time before the price of a replacment refrigerant gets cheaper than the price of R22.
The best replacment for R-22 is probably R-410A. Here are some reasons to switch to the refrigerant R410A (also called Genetron AZ-20, Forane 410A, Suva 410A and Puron) instead of R22. R410A is 5-6% more efficient than R22. R410A is an azeotropic mixture (a solution of two or more liquids, the composition of which does not change upon distillation). This makes it much more environmentally stable.
"Guide to Alternative Refrigerants."
© 2000 Honeywell International. 1 Nov 2007.
"PURON¬ REFRIGERANT R-410A."
January 2005. © 2005 Carrier Corporation. 1 Nov 2007.
