Air conditioners have been one of the most basic appliances which have become essential in a very short period of time. The technology has raised a standard of living in such a way that you would be surprised if you notice any household or office without air conditioners.
Do you know that air conditioners use HCFCs and CFCs gases to cool down the offices and houses? These are detrimental to the environment where we live. To overcome these issues, some of the nations are concerned about this factor and taking necessary actions to gradually release these harmful gases. By keeping this in mind, the Environmental Protection Agency has revised the regulations against refrigerant management, which came into effect from January 2018.
As can be seen, this requires in-depth legal and technical knowledge to understand. But you don’t need to worry, here’s everything that you need to know and act on in simple terms.
What is refrigerant?
It is considered to be a chemical compound that is found in both the gaseous and liquid states. It can absorb heat swiftly from the atmosphere. Refrigerant, which is also known as Freon is used in the air conditioner and refrigerator to cool down the temperature with the help of the evaporator unit and compressor. There are different types of refrigerants classified according to the chemical properties. The most common one is Freon refrigerant r22, which is phasing out by the requirements of the law.
What is the role of a refrigerant?
It can be said that it is the blood of an air conditioning system. As the blood carries oxygen to the organs of our body, the refrigerant in ACs carries heat between the condenser and evaporative unit. The refrigerant comes in the form of the copper coil. In the form of a low-pressure liquid, it absorbs the heat from the room through the evaporator coil, as the evaporator draws the air in the room. After the heat absorption, the refrigerant is sent to the condenser unit. A compressor then gets turned to a high-pressure gaseous form and heats it further. After the dissipation of heat, the refrigerant again gets turned in its liquid form to send it to the evaporative unit. Therefore, the cycle continues.
Why R22 refrigerant replacement?
The ozone layer is the most essential part of our earth’s stratosphere, which is responsible for absorbing the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. This layer comprises a higher concentration of ozone gas in the stratosphere of the earth. But with the increase of man-made organ halogen gases, the ozone layer started to deplete rapidly. The major culprits among all the gases are the Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). R22 is the most used hydro chlorofluorocarbons gas today. Although R22 is safer than R12, it also has a negative impact on the ozone layer. This is why EPA is determined to implement the R22 refrigerant replacement air conditioning with HFCs gases like R134A or R410A. As a responsible inhabitant of this earth, it is our duty to comply with this law to make our earth safe for the coming generations.
Bottom Line
As per the new regulatory changes, it is forbidden to mix any non-exempted refrigerants with the exempted ones. The newly revised regulation created various obligations for the users, producers, and technicians. All of these are made to ensure our environmental integrity. So, let’s help the government and be a responsible citizen of the earth.