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R22 Refrigerant is being phased out! Do you need help to understand the effect of this?

More about R22 Refrigerant

R22 refrigerant has been identified as having ozone-depleting potential so the use of virgin R22 refrigerant will be banned from January 2010. This means that any system will have to rely on reclaimed gas for routine maintenance or emergencies until its outright ban in 2015.

Most Air Conditioning and Refrigeration equipment more than five years old will almost certainly be using R22 refrigerant. Properly maintained units can go on working for years, but owners may be shocked to find that they cannot get their systems fixed from January 2010 because R22 refrigerant is not available. This could leave buildings without heating and cooling, with hard-pressed companies facing the immediate cost of unscheduled replacement or having to buy high-priced reclaimed R22 refrigerant, if they can find it.

Running out of gas

According to the BRA (British Refrigeration Association), severe shortages of reclaimed R22 refrigerant are predicted based on the small amount of gas being reclaimed. The option of direct-replacement or ‘drop-in’ refrigerants may help, these have been developed to drop into an R22 refrigerant system to keep the systems going for the short term. The problem is, each individual system is different, and it is impossible to tell whether there is a simple solution, or how effective it will be until you get to the stage where you actually need to use it. Recent tests also indicate that direct-replacement refrigerants can hinder performance, in some cases, they have even caused complete mechanical failure.

The better solutions where circumstances allow are the replacement of R22 system; the capital cost may be able to be offset against your annual tax bill under the Governments Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) Scheme.

Options

The options open to owners of systems running R22 refrigerant are as follows:

Use a Zero ODP (Zero Ozone Depleting Potential) replacement refrigerant (direct-replacement refrigerants can hinder performance; in some cases, they have even caused complete mechanical failure).
Invest in new plant (ECA Scheme)
Use genuine recycled refrigerant while still available.

How we can help

We have experience in managing the phase-out of R22 refrigerant within the industry and can help you in the following manner:

Come to site and help identify what equipment you have.
Recommend a replacement
Help decommission or retrofit your current R22 plant, to give you the best option on site for disposal and maintenance.

For a free no obligation quotation, please complete our online enquiry form,
or contact us for further information.

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