So I'm sure he'll don the tinfoil if he hears about this!

Any idea what makes the new units different? These things aren't exactly famous for their efficiency, so I'm sure that's part of it.

You can still get it but will get more expensive. The system should be sealed so you should not need any on a regular basis.

Thank you so much for this and the below info, will save it.

Wikipedia:

You are absolutely right on this one.

It replaced R-12 in the early 90s.

uses r-410. Its a much higher pressure system than an r22 system so its not compatible. Units with it are more expensive but a lot cheaper to operate. Our heat pump is still putting out heat at 5 degrees F. Mind you at that 5 degree outside temperature we have to have supplemental heat as the heat pump can't keep up. We use wood pellets for that.

This new system also uses a variable speed compressor so its not kicking on and off to maintain the temperature you want rather it speeds up or slows down the compressor to do that. Thats a large part of its higher efficiency. At the mid point of this winter this new unit will have paid for itself in savings over the old r22 system it replaced. 2.5 years

Some are banned outright; some are restricted.

ePA http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/phaseout/22phaseout.html



How old is your system?

one is very old, it serves the original 1959 part of the house..it is gas/electric unit ( gas heat, electric A/c)
The other is a Trane Heat Pump, been around for at least 25 years.

gonna save this info and talk to the A/c guy.

esp. the older unit, which is 3 times the size of the heat pump.

Nt

For automobiles and the like, R-12 production ceased in 1996. But R-22, as a large scale building system refrigerant, was allowed to remain in use for another 2 decades, but it's sale was controlled to only licensed individuals.

Production of HCFC-22 is allowed to continue through 2019. There is a lot of information available at this link:


https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/10/28/2014-25374/protection-of-stratospheric-ozone-adjustments-to-the-allowance-system-for-controlling-hcfc#t-1

They will have to replace the units, but how long do AC units last to begin with? I know that my father had to buy a new unit for his home when we lived there.

Just have to take care of them. Very important part is the filters.

The part that usually shit cans a unit is the compressor failing, and that is in the outside condenser unit.

in the inside unit. This is key to efficiency and long life of the other components to include the compressor. I have also ensured my house is tightly sealed and my unit runs much less than when I moved into my house 6 years ago.

Compressor. It is important to keep the evaporator coil clean and this can be accomplished with frequent filter changes and if the unit can work with the pleated filters it would be better.

and with pleated filters.
In fact, just bought some very high rated ones 2 days ago, Mr. Dixie said something about them being able to filter out almost everything in the air.

I am real big on preventive maintenance.

In fact my coil was replaced under warranty about fourteen years ago but needed cleaning this year, like you Sa just a part of maintenance. Hopefully I will not have any leaks and would not need the costly Freon replacements.

Mine is a heat pump so it gets double duty as the straight AC units do.

Clippings are thrown towards the unit instead of mowing in the opposite direction or either catch the clippings.

at least every two years. A 3 micron coating on the fins can cost you 20% of the units efficiency. That costs you MONEY!!

Even though I hose them down regularly, the salt air just destroys the coils. The coils in the exterior units fail before the compressor.

We take good care of the units and they last a long time (which we do)
but sometime around 5 years from now, the R-22 is gonna be gone
and we have to replace the units so they can run on a new type coolant?????

Or can the new type coolants work in the older units??

Just can not be made or imported. It can be recycled and stored. Now refrigerants are not compatible without system modifications.

If your unit is not leaking Freon and remains charged the R22 unit can continue operating until its last breath.
Did I remember you are in Texas. I am also, my unit was changed in 1999 so I am staying with it. After the R410 Freon came out they started having Evaporator coils which could be used with R22 or R410. The condenser was either R22 or R410 for a few years and remained available so the condenser could be changed without changing the old Evaporator coil.

Humidity and heat together.
Plus, we get more colder weather in the winter than we used to.

and will chat with the A/C guy at some point.

Properly maintained units can last a long time. 20 years average.
Upside of replacing one is they make more efficient ones over time.

Few years and the newer systems are normally a higher SEER rating and the higher the SEER number the more efficient and of course more expensive. You get a return on lower electric bills and they are also selling solar units. When you live in Texas you will probably benefit from an A/C.

so much has changed in that field also....
We get 250 days or more of sun down here, still.

Then again...there is climate change...

hmmmmmmm

Your AC unit is probably using R-22, an ozone depleting CFC. Much like R-134A has replaced R-12 for cars, so will HCF-410A replace R-22. I had a 2.5 ton central AC unit installed last year. It has 410A.

Mine was replaced in 2011. Is that "newer", or better question - how do you know? I have a Carrier.

That was the problem I had. I bought in 2008 and they had just put in a "new" heatpump. It was new all right - in that no one would have bought it. It was under warranty as 'new' but mfg in 2004 and when I tried to have it serviced in 2009, they couldn't get freon for it. Pissed me off replacing a unit so quickly - and I will be triple pissed if this one has the same issue...

That will identify what refrigerant it takes and the manufactured date.

I live in a city and the unit is on the roof, which I can't access.

Just the other day, I got a letter from the HVAC guy offering annual service contracts. I think it may just be a good idea to pay the retainer fee in the hopes that he keeps me from getting another nasty surprise.

It may be on the warranty documents.

Yes, I do - and have made a note to pull that this week and find out.

Thanks!

It is require that all systems that are retired be drained of r22 and recycled for resale for systems still in use.

A lot of hvac companies make used car salesmen look good

This unit needed something older, and the work was discounted by 80% because of the warranty on the "new" unit.

But thank you for your concern.

We bought this house in 05. Both units here were in place, and were serviced annually, including addition of R-22 as needed.
Never was told about any freon problem till yesterday.
You might re-think who you are dealing with.
Our guy was working with the local company here and then went out on his own, so we know him.

are one step away from being sued (this is just my issue - there is a class action against them).

The guy who got me back up and running is a long time friend of family who made a special trip to help me. Things are great now - I just need to make sure I stay on top of it, just like the water heater issue. That is another "refurbished" item that was installed here when the place was flipped in 2008.

Or I would have never known about this freon deal. It gave me a few years on a replacement before I had to replace the whole unit - so i was at least prepared for it. Really don't want to have to go through that again anytime soon though!

Big Windows and high ceilings would make a family cry during a New England winter.

just below into the house, windows cracked open on the top floor to keep the circulation going. The vents were often some distance from the house so they wouldn't pick up any residual heat from sun on the foundation. It was a pretty neat system.

Here in NM, we have evaporative coolers that work best on our hottest days when humidity is under 15%. They reliably cool an interior 10 degrees, often 20, but do make the interior very humid as well, hence the name "swamp coolers." I haven't bothered to hook mine up in a couple of years, heat is more tolerable as I enter my dotage.

I suppose I'll go to ductless mini splits in the not too distant future when it becomes impossible for me to cope with the heat. In the meantime, I find trips outside easier to take when I'm not leaving cooler air to do it. Fans and wet hair keep me comfy indoors.

Yes, wet hair. "Go soak your head" is good advice on hot summer days.

As the famous saying goes, it isn't the heat - it's the humidity.

and it did work, although not as well as having air conditioned air forced into the house by a fan.

Down south, where it's hotter and even more humid than CT, people used to have large fans up in the attic. They'd open the windows after sunset and turn the fan on and as it cooled off, outside air would be drawn in and the house would be cooled. The next day, everything would be shut tight and heavy drapes drawn against the sun and the house would be tolerable until an hour or two before sunset.

If it's a nasty muggy night, there is just no relief without AC. I went years without it and finally decided to upgrade the house to central AC last year. It's a huge change in comfort.

For info, I grew up in the Southeast USA, so I know it's even worse down there.

( any southerners here will automatically hear the tone of that question)

as the saying goes..it ain't the heat, it is the humidity.

You might have to peel the wet sheets off in the morning, but the house was cool.

We have an enormous silver poplar in the front yard. More often than not, I curse that tree and think about cutting it down. It sheds cotton fluff every spring so badly it looks like snow, it sends up literally thousands of suckers through the front yard hundreds of feet from the trunk, and produces no edible nuts or berries for wildlife. It almost choked my riding mower to death one spring because of the fluff clogging the air filter.

But on hot, sunny days, when I can hear the A/C at the neighbor's treeless house humming away all day long and my A/C is quiet as a mouse, I feel like giving that tree a hug.

it was only about 11 years old when it bit the dust, and it was painful to have to spend all that money. when i got the new pump, i also had to buy all new inside forced air unit as well. salesman said it was because the new pump would be incompatible with the old FA unit, so that was an added expense. it's probably what you're referring to, so my new unit should be ok...i hope! next yearly checkup, i'll ask them about it.

the upside is that my new unit is a lot more environmentally friendly than the last one, and my bills are significantly lower now. i'm all electric, and using the unit as a heater in the winter is actually more expensive than using the AC.

thanks for posting...

And yes, electric heat down south in the winter is not as efficient as gas heat.
Gas heat dries the air out.
We have all electric heat pump for the back of the house, which was added on in the 70's,
and combo electric A/C, gas heat, unit for the original front of the house, which I like much better.
Just wish the previous owners, at some point, had added gas cooking.

new version which is considerably more expensive

dont know if this is CA only or not

Owning a house can be such a pain.
Our insurance company made us get a new roof 2 years ago.
There went 7 grand in one fell swoop.

much better insulation and it has lowered my electricity bills. I went with a more expensive higher efficiency one.

I deliberately bought an old house down here, 1958 built, cause I wanted the all wood floors, molding, etc,wooden stick built design.
and luckily the re-wiring had been done by earlier owners
but yes, the A/C units are elderly.
Knock on wood...still working, tho.

I got a new furnace and the new A/C with a huge tax rebate...that came after my solar, and my E windows on the porch we enclosed. Both with rebates. And, the solar is paying me 12c a kw hour, vs. 2 cents if I had waited. At the time, I made the decision to go the whole route because I was told that to replace the old compressor was not a good idea as it was already getting harder to get the old stuff.....

new EPA-approved coolant, know as R-410A, does not work with the R-22 equipment.

Time to start saving my shekels....

They won't have to do any duct work etc., which should save on some costs.

Also, you are not alone

R410A refrigerant, which has replaced R22. There are no current plans to phase out R410A. R22, however, is going away quickly. Your older unit may use it, and that may be what your technician was talking about. It will continue to be available for awhile, and AC companies will stockpile it as they decommission older systems.

Either your tech is confused or you misheard him. R410A will be around for a long time to come. When you replace your AC, you'll get one with the newer refrigerant.

when we had our unit (central air) service checked. They put in that freon but told us that in a few years it will no longer be available and we will have to replace the entire unit. Um, that would be in the $4,000 range.

We are planning to move back North in a year or two. Hopefully, it will last until then.

you haven't been able to buy a new unit with it for years. everything these days is R-134A or R-407C. Look up Montreal Protocols.

this is because of "global warming potential". A rating for every substance that basically says how bad it is for the atmosphere.

This has been coming for some time. I'd say it's time to start saving up to get a new AC that uses ozone-safe refrigerant.

The two or three days a year it gets too hot to sleep in the bedroom, we just sleep downstairs.