The cost of everything is sky rocketing – from gas at the pump to food at the grocery store. While all of us at Maertin Heating & Cooling hate adding to our neighbors’ cost of living, you may see the cost of repairing your air conditioner increasing too, especially when your unit uses R22 refrigerant.
Unfortunately, over the last five years the cost of refrigerant has almost doubled every year.
We are here to explain why and help you decide what to do.
There are two types of refrigerant, R-22 and R-410A. R-410A is less damaging to our world’s ozone layer and operates at a higher pressure, which makes it able to cool your home’s air more efficiently. The EPA ordered the phasing out of R-22 because of its negative impact on climate change and since January 1, 2020, R-22 is no longer produced.
If your air conditioning unit or heat pump was manufactured before 2010, your unit most likely uses R-22 – and the price to replace the R-22 refrigerant is extremely high. Because R-410A functions differently than R-22, we cannot put R-410A into a R-22 system.
When your air conditioner is blowing warm air, you likely have a leak in your sealed system, allowing the refrigerant to escape. So what are your options?
You can do nothing
Not the best solution, as your air conditioner will not run effectively and your energy costs will increase. Your compressor will degrade as the motor will work longer at higher temperatures. Also, your unit will be releasing ozone-destroying chemicals into the environment as the refrigerant continues to leak.
We can add refrigerant
Your Maertin technician will not encourage this, as it’s only a puffed up “do nothing.” Your HVAC units hold anywhere from 5 to 20 lbs of refrigerant so adding refrigerant will cost you a great deal of money and your unit could be back to blowing warm air in days – or even hours.
We can try to repair the leak with Easy Seal
We’ll give you our best advice after looking at your unit as Easy Seal may or may not stop the leak. Once installed, your air conditioning must run non-stop for at least an hour. If the Easy Seal fails, refrigerant will leak and you’ll be feeling warm air all over again. Note –repairs made with Easy Seal are not warrantied.
We can perform a leak search and repair or replace the leaking parts.
This is a better option than Easy Seal. When possible, Maertin technicians will find where the leak is happening and repair those compromised parts. However, for leaks in the coil or line set, it is often more cost effective to replace the part, or even to replace the entire unit. Note – these leak repairs are warrantied for both materials and labor.
You can replace your system.
We know no one wants to incur this expense, but replacing your unit could be the wisest choice, both in the short term and in the long term. Newer units are more energy-efficient, better for the environment and our changing climate, and cool your home faster. We can include smart technology to further save energy and cut costs. Your Maertin technician can explain rebates and tax credits. We can also explain the benefits of heat pumps which are becoming more and more the choice of energy and climate conscious consumers.
When your system seems to be blowing warm – or just not cold – air, give us a call at 708-479-9350. We’ll be out to get your family cool and comfortable as soon as possible.
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