Sounds like a great idea, eh? Something catching on fire right next to your house. All for a fake issue
Air conditioners to start using slightly flammable refrigerant soon
Big changes are coming to the way you keep your house cool. The type of refrigerant currently used in HVAC systems is being phased out.
The 2020 American Innovation and Manufacturing Act directed manufacturers to make air conditioners that use A2L refrigerant starting January 1, 2025.
Because of that, air conditioners had to be redesigned to accept the new refrigerant, which is considered slightly flammable.
If your first question is “flammable?” and your second question is, “What does this mean for my current HVAC system?” 5 On Your Side has you covered.
“The current refrigerant, 410A, has a high global warming potential,” Jenna McClintock, of McClintock Heating & Cooling, said of the reason for the change.
A2L is more flammable than the refrigerant currently being used, so air conditioning units had to be overhauled for safety.
Fortunately, there will be new detectors in the units, which surely won’t add to cost, right? Because you’re already paying more for using A2L in AC units vs the old 410A standard. In fairness, it was already in use for many automobiles and small AC units, but, we’re talking large home units which have already gone up a couple thousand due to more stringent federal standards. And, certainly, the feds wouldn’t do something like ban the manufacture of 410A, meaning repairs cannot be done, right? All for a scam.
It should be mentioned that A2L is almost a good a refrigerant as 410A, the difference is miniscule, so, not exchanging a really good one for a so-so.
Thinking about my response to this brought two points to mind:
1 – So many ‘policymakers’ are from the cooler northeast, where air conditioning is less of a need, and think that, heck, people should just do away with AC to save Mother Gaia.
2 – So many policymakers want to fight
global warmingclimate change, and they want people to do away with gas furnaces to heat their homes, thus pushing electric heat pumps.Those two things are mutually exclusive! But number 2 will overtake number one, leaving more homes having the capacity to have AC.
President Trump would never allow something like the 2020 American Innovation and Manufacturing Act to be enacted on his watch!
And the mercury in EPA mandated CFL’s isn’t harmful.
Other mercury? Yeah, but it’s for a good cause.
My older daughter’s house came with a heat pump system used for both heating and cooling, but it was on its last legs, and she suffered a huge heating bill over the winter. She replaced it with a heat pump based air conditioning system, but went with a cheaper system which was not expected to heat the house, and had a natural gas furnace installed to keep the place nice and toasty during the winter.
We replaced our HVAC system, for both heating and cooling after the old one was damaged in the 2021 100-year flood, and it is our primary heating system, doing well enough when it isn’t bitterly cold outside; the propane fireplace is supplemental and emergency heat. That’s what I see as practical in east-central Kentucky. We aren’t quite in the mountains, but the mountains begin right here.
“The current refrigerant, 410A, has a high global warming potential,”
Once again, “Potential”. “May”. “Might”. “Could”. “Possible”.