Did you know that every air conditioner does not work with a common refrigerant? Following are some of the common refrigerants used in air conditioners today:
R410A - commonly known as Puron (its brand name). R410A is used in all the latest air conditioners now. It is a hydro-fluorocarbon (HFC) and does not affect the ozone layer. R410A became the new standard for U.S. residential air conditioning systems back in 2015.
R22 - commonly known as Freon (its brand name). It is a hydro-chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), thus contributes in ozone layer depletion. R22 was discontinued for use in residential air conditioners due to their harmful effects on the environment.
Performance difference between R22 and R410A
R410A has better heat transfer efficiency, thus the AC unit has to do lesser work for the similar amount of cooling, which translates to a better life of the air conditioning unit. R410A works at a higher pressure than R22, so don’t fill an R22 compatible AC with R410A because the compressor will just…explode.
On a side note, R22 is has been phased out from use in residential air conditioners. These days, many manufacturers are providing conversion kits for older ACs to make them R410A compatible. While this a safe upgrade, but not reliable in the long run. Upgrading is also very expensive (almost half of the cost of a new AC). Thus, it is a better idea to buy a new R410A compatible air conditioner.
16 сен 2024
