What are the replacements for R-22?
Monday, February 22nd, 2010For the last few years, R-22 has been used in many cooling devices such as air conditioners and chillers. Research has found that R-22 has a great impact on the ozone layer and global warming. This means that R¬-22 is directly harmful to all living beings. So now the decision to phase out R-22 completely has been made by all the countries in the world.
From January, 2010, the production of air conditioning units with R-22 in them is completely banned. In addition to this, after 2015, R-22 will not even be available for repairs and maintenance. This means that now all manufacturers have to use various alternatives to R-22.
Various alternatives to R-22 used in air conditioning units
One of the most commonly used replacements for R-22 is R-410A. It is an HFC and it does not contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer. Commonly, R-410A is sold under trade names like AZ-20, Suva 410A and Puron. At present you will also find other alternatives such as R-134A and R407C.
R-134A is a single hydrofluorocarbon or HFC compound which means that it has no chlorine in it. So, it is also one of the refrigerants that has no impact on the ozone layer and global warming.
R407C is also an alternative which is a blend of HFC compounds and, unlike R-22, it does not contain chlorine which affects the environment. Thus, all manufacturers are producing new air conditioning units with these replacements for R-22.

