Refrigerants and Their Environmental Impact: What Homeowners Need to Know

Refrigerants play a major role in cooling and sometimes also in heating. Not only is the refrigerant in any type of air conditioner what enables it to cool, but refrigerant is also what allows refrigerators and freezers to work. While refrigerants are extremely important in terms of the role they play in modern life, they also have the potential to have a major impact on the environment and the planet in general. That’s why certain refrigerants like Freon have been banned in many places and why others are in the process of being phased out and will eventually be banned. In this article, we’ll provide a full overview of what refrigerants are and how they work before then taking a closer look at refrigerants and their environmental impact.

Understanding the Role of Refrigerants in Cooling

Refrigerants are a group of special chemical compounds with quite unique properties. Specifically, they can get extremely cold without freezing as a result of having such a low boiling point, and they are also extremely effective at capturing heat.

Most refrigerants in use today start to boil and change from a liquid to a gas at very low temperatures, often between -15 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the type. This low boiling point allows them to effectively absorb heat from the surrounding area, enabling efficient cooling. After absorbing the heat, the refrigerant can transfer and release it elsewhere, completing the cycle.

In terms of air conditioning, the refrigerant in an AC system works to capture heat from inside a house and then release the heat outside to quickly lower the indoor temperature. The way the process works is that extremely cold, liquid refrigerant continually gets pumped through the AC evaporator coil. The fact that the refrigerant is so cold means that heat in the air blowing over the coil naturally flows into and is absorbed by the refrigerant. This process occurs naturally because heat energy always moves from a higher temperature substance into any nearby substance or surface that is colder.

As the refrigerant absorbs heat, its temperature starts to increase. Nonetheless, at this point in the process, it remains in liquid form since it hasn’t yet reached its boiling point by the time it exits the evaporator coil on its way back outside to the AC condenser unit. Once it reaches the condenser, it passes through the AC compressor. When compressed, its pressure greatly decreases and results in it instantly boiling and transforming into a superheated gas that’s typically at least 120 degrees.

Once superheated, it then gets pumped through the condenser coil where most of the heat flows out of the refrigerant into the air blowing over this coil. This again happens naturally as a result of the refrigerant now being so much hotter than the air outside.

The last step in the process before the refrigerant gets pumped back to the evaporator coil is that it passes through an expansion valve. Just as compressing the refrigerant causes it to get hotter, its temperature greatly decreases when it expands. As a result, it changes back into a liquid and its temperature decreases to below its boiling point so that it can start capturing more heat again.

This same process is also how refrigerant allows a heat pump to heat. The only difference in this situation is that the refrigerant captures heat from outside and releases it into the building.

Why Freon and Other Refrigerants Were Banned

There are two main categories of refrigerants used in cooling: hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The difference between the two is that all HCFCs contain chlorine, and this is why almost every country on the planet has now entirely banned or at least severely limited their use. The reason is that the chlorine in HCFCs is what was primarily responsible for damaging the ozone layer and leading to it developing a hole. That’s why the ozone layer has almost entirely recovered since the Montreal Protocol went into effect in 1989, requiring signing countries to ban or greatly limit the use of HCFCs and other ozone-depleting chemicals.

When it comes to refrigerant and air conditioning, you’ve most likely heard the term Freon used. Freon is the brand name for a certain type of refrigerant also known as R-22, which was the primary refrigerant used in air conditioning and refrigeration for decades. As part of the commitments required under the Montreal Protocol, the U.S. took the step to fully ban the use of Freon in new air conditioning equipment beginning in 2010. It then went a step further and fully banned the import and production of Freon in 2020. That means the only way Freon can be used nowadays is if it has been reclaimed from an AC system that was produced before 2010.

Once Freon was banned, most manufacturers switched to using a different type of refrigerant known as Puron or R-410a. Unlike Freon which is an HCFC, Puron is an HFC and doesn’t have any ozone-damaging properties. The issue is that it is still an extremely powerful greenhouse gas, which means it traps huge amounts of heat in the atmosphere and contributes to issues with climate change or global warming.

As such, the U.S. has also begun taking the first steps to phase out and eventually ban Puron as well. The first step in the process will begin at the start of 2025 when R-410a will no longer be allowed to be used in new air conditioning equipment. The next step is set to take place in 2035 when it will then be illegal to produce or import Puron.

The new refrigerants that will replace R-410a have a lower “global warming potential,” which means that they are at least less harmful and trap less heat in the atmosphere. Nonetheless, they aren’t entirely harmless since they can still trap quite large amounts of heat.

How to Ensure the Refrigerant in Your AC System Is Safe

The main thing to note is that any type of refrigerant only has an impact on the environment if it gets released into the air. That’s why the EPA requires all HVAC companies to fully capture all of the refrigerant out of an AC system before it can be removed and replaced. As such, the only time you really need to worry about the refrigerant in your AC system potentially harming the environment is if there is a leak in one of the coils or the copper refrigerant lines.

This is one of the many reasons why annual AC inspections and maintenance are so important since they can identify if your system is leaking and also go a long way toward preventing leaks. In addition to the environmental impact that results from a refrigerant leak, you also want to make sure your system isn’t leaking since it will end up not having enough refrigerant to work properly. What happens in most cases is that your AC system will continually freeze up when it’s low on refrigerant as a result of the pressure decreasing and causing the refrigerant to get much colder than it normally should.

Monkey Wrench Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric offers trusted air conditioning, heating, plumbing, and electrical solutions throughout the Los Angeles area. As one of the area’s leading HVAC companies, you can trust us to professionally handle your home comfort needs. We specialize in the full range of maintenance, repair, and AC installation services and will work to ensure your house remains at the right temperature throughout the year. If you have any questions about the type of refrigerant your system uses or need any home service, contact us today.