The R22 phase out program has been gradual over the last 8 years, this has been done to lessen the impact on end users of this refrigerant, however this year more than any other it is very important to pay attention to the new changes, anyone operating equipment using R22 only has a limited time to put in place your plan for the R22 phase out program.

Phase out dates for R22
From 1st July 2002 no more cooling only air conditioning equipment can be manufactured that uses refrigerant R22.

From 1st January 2004 no more heat pump air conditiong equipment can be manufactured that uses refrigerant R22.

After 1st January 2010 no more virgin refrigerant R22 can be used in existing systems.

After 1st January 2015 no more recycled refrigerant R22 can be used in existing systems.

On 1st January 2010 your options become very limited to the following

1. Use recycled R22 refrigerant, it is obvious that the stocks of recycled R22 will become extremely limited in availability and we are concerned for our clients that this will become very expensive method and this practice of using recycled R22 refrigerant will be phased out in 2015. 

2. Drop in refrigerants can be used, this is where we remove all the existing R22 and replace this with what’s know as a drop in refrigerant, however this can also be very expensive and there are no guarantees on achieving the original cooling and heating duties. So if your system duty is sized to its requirement you may find that this option is limited in its use.

3. Alternatively we can offer a system audit where we can show a full financial breakdown on your existing equipments operating / repair cost. This can be shown against the cost of installing new equipment operating on the greenest non ozone depleting refrigeration as well as the latest inverter technology. We have already shown on many occasions with this audit tool that new systems can pay back the installation cost within as little as 3 years operational use, taking into consideration the exceptionally low running cost of the latest equipment and the reduction in your company’s carbon footprint.