New Freon for home AC

Though R410A is going the way of R-22 everything I’ve read in professional HVAC trade magazines and HVAC forums it’s anticipated to be available for a couple decades or more, it will be expensive though should you need it, but I gather all refrigerants are expensive nowadays even the new ones. There will certainly be substitute refrigerants that can be used in R410A systems such as there currently are for R-22 systems.

Many are asking the same question you are, should I wait for a new refrigerant system, and I’ve not seen where the HVAC trade, those that install or repair systems are recommending that people hold off replacement as they are being told R410A will be available for a long time.

You got your $$ out of that R-22 system - 23 years old.

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Many are asking the same question you are, should I wait for a new refrigerant system, and I’ve not seen where the HVAC trade, those that install or repair systems are recommending that people hold off replacement as they are being told R410A will be available for a long time.

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I have an old R22 unit from 2003 that's still kicking. A fellow HVAC friend of mine highly advised I change the compressor next year regardless of function due to the change on the horizon for 1-1-2025. He said the newer systems will have different pressure operating parameters and will be quite expensive. So if I can hop on a high-SEER rated R410 compressor before the big switch I'd save some cheese down the road.

Thoughts?

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I have an old R22 unit from 2003 that's still kicking. A fellow HVAC friend of mine highly advised I change the compressor next year regardless of function due to the change on the horizon for 1-1-2025. He said the newer systems will have different pressure operating parameters and will be quite expensive. So if I can hop on a high-SEER rated R410 compressor before the big switch I'd save some cheese down the road. Thoughts?

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I’m actually having this same thing done on Wed at a house I inherited in Morgan City - outside condensing unit R-22 is 2004 but inside Furnace and Cased Evaporator Coil is 2015. Will change out the inside evaporator coil to the newer all aluminum coil but will retain the gas furnace as the heat exchanger is warranted for 20 years. New outside condensing unit will be Trane Seer 2 14. 3 ton unit. If you are curious about the cost - $5700 (condensing unit + Evap coil, 2 year labor warranty). Would probably be 2X here in BR lol

So It’s worth consideration - that 20 year old unit is not going last forever. Now you are aware that a R410A system has a much higher operating pressure than R-22, nearly 2X. But I don’t how the operating pressures on the newer R-32 and other refrigerants systems will compare to R410A though I think they are comparable. Need to read up on it.

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Huh?

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Propane, R-290, is an excellent refrigerant, similar in preformance to R-22, and with a low Gobal Warming Potential (GWP). I think it’s currently limited to applications where less than 1 lb (500 grams) of refrigerant is used, like refrigerators and such, b/c of its ability to go “boom”. Wouldn’t want a leaky evaporator coil adjacent to one’s gas furnace.

Propane, propylene, ethylene are nearly the only refrigerants used in large industrial applications. These new LNG plants on the coast are basically series of huge refrigeration systems.