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R22 Refrigerant Is Being Phased Out. Start Thinking Retrofit!

What type of gas does your commercial refrigeration equipment use?  Is it time to consider a change?  Northeast Cooling is here to help!

R22 Refrigerant is being phased out by the Montreal Protocol Act.  This ozone depleting refrigerant is is used in many air conditioning and refrigeration applications world wide, and this type of  gas is very commonly used in the Chicagoland area.  The sale of new R22 equipment is no longer allowed.  As of January 1st, 2010 the consumption and production of R22 gas has been reduced by 75%. By the year 2015 it will be 90% reduced.  The gas will be 99.5%  phased out by the year 2020. (source EPA HCFC Phaseout Schedule)

This has happened before, one of the first gasses to be completely phased out was R12 in 1995.  After the production of R12 stopped the price rose by hundreds of dollars.  It was used in air conditioning and refrigeration. Retrofit (replacement gasses) became available. This allowed technicians to convert the equipment to newer more ecologically friendly refrigerants.   R409A & Mp66 are two examples of R12 replacement gasses.

In refrigeration, there are two main choices to deal with the phaseout of R22 Gas.

1: Replace the equipment with newer systems that run on different refrigerant.

2: Retrofit existing system to run on new approved gas.

There are several types of gas available to be used in replacement of R22. One is M099, this gas is compatible with the existing oil in the system.  Using a replacement gas that is compatible with existing system oil can speed up the retrofit procedure. Another gas that can be used is 407C. This gas is requires the use of POE oil in the system. The old oil must be flushed out of system and replaced.

The price of R22 gas is already climbing fast, which makes now a perfect time  consider retrofitting or replacing your old R22 Air Conditioning or Refrigeration System.  Most new Air Conditioning equipment is now using R410A gas.  These systems are more efficient and far less harmful to the ozone.  There are some great government tax saving incentives when  buying  HVAC equipment. There are great incentives for Refrigeration upgrades too!

Do you own commercial refrigeration or HVAC equipment? We would like to offer a 2 step program to drastically green up your footprint.

1:  The next time a major repair is needed on your existing R22 Cooler or Freezer have us retrofit it to an ozone friendly gas, or replace it with new energy efficient equipment.

2: Have Northeast Cooling perform a building energy audit & show you the potential savings that could be had by installing WiSuite wireless building management system.


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