Are there new refrigerants available that are safer for the environment?
Yes, and the most promising one is R-410A (trademarked as Puron™ by Carrier). Carrier offers a new air conditioner (model 38YXA) with R-410A because it provides high-efficiency cooling along with other substantial benefits for the environment. The culprit in traditional refrigerants (R-12 and R-22) is a chlorine atom, which reacts with ozone in the upper atmosphere and destroys it. R-410A, chemically known as an HFC (hydrofluorocarbon), contains no chlorine and will not damage the ozone layer.

Puron - the refrigerant of the future

Puron is the refrigerant of the future, and Carrier is prepared to help homeowners like you enjoy improved comfort right now with a full line of products utilizing this performance-enhancing refrigerant. You may not realize it, but your existing indoor weather system is an endangered species. That's the result of the 1990 Clean Air Act and the internationally binding Montreal Protocol. These documents call for an international phase out on future manufacturing of the refrigerant R-22, which is currently used in most air conditioning and heat pump systems. In response to this phase out, Carrier has been hard at work assisting in the development of a replacement refrigerant. Extensive testing and a full two years of use in the market place have helped us determine that Puron is superior in performance and energy efficiency in addition to being environmentally sound. These outstanding results have made Puron refrigerant the universally accepted, long-term refrigerant for the heating and cooling industry.

Carrier's technologically-advanced design and use of Puron, an environmentally sage refrigerant, has earned the Green Seal of Approval.

Carrier is the first manufacturer to develop indoor weather products using Puron, the chlorine-free replacement refrigerant for R-22. As companies worldwide race to switch over to chlorine-free refrigerants, Carrier offers the experience of having introduced the first air conditioners with the alternative refrigerant back in 1996. Now, Carrier is expanding its line to offer a wide range of environmentally sound products. Carrier's superior technology enables you to begin investing in your future today with custom made indoor weather systems that are environmentally sound.

A Carrier indoor weather system with Puron refrigerant delivers enhanced energy efficiency, quieter operation and outstanding reliability today while meeting the environmental standards of the future. Puron refrigerant has a proven record of outstanding reliability and has been endorsed by the EPA for use in the United States. European and Japanese markets are also introducing products using this high-performance, chlorine-free refrigerant.

Carrier's initial central air conditioner using Puron refrigerant shows exceptional reliability, having the lowest incidence of service of Carrier's entire product line. The improved energy efficiency of our line of indoor weather products with Puron refrigerant will result in a reduction of your heating or cooling costs. And, by making the switch to a system utilizing Puron refrigerant now, you may avoid the potentially rising costs associated with servicing or replacing R-22 based systems.

Carrier Indoor Weather Experts have been specially trained and are certified to install and service Carrier products using Puron refrigerant. As you become more aware of the inevitable switch to products with Puron refrigerant, Carrier's Indoor Weather Experts will be able to help you make the right choice for the future: Carrier products with Puron refrigerant.

Historically, when a refrigerant has been phased out, the cost of that refrigerant has risen dramatically. And the costs for servicing products using a phased out refrigerant have risen as well. That's what happened with R-12, the refrigerant that had, until recently, been used in automobile air conditioners. By replacing your older air conditioner or heat pump with a Carrier product with Puron refrigerant, you could be protecting yourself from the potentially rising costs of servicing R-22 products.

What about R-22?
R-22 is expected to be available for the next 20 years. Recycled and reclaimed R-22 makes the fluid likely to be available past the life of all equipment installed until 2010. R-22 is not likely to be subjected to major price increases like R-12 because of its widespread availability and a lengthy phase out period. R-22 (an HCFC) has been the refrigerant of choice for residential heating and cooling systems for more than 40 years. Currently all major HVAC manufacturers use R-22 in more than 95 percent of the systems they build. The Clean Air Act does not allow any refrigerant to be vented into the atmosphere during installation, service or retirement of equipment. Therefore, R-22 must be reclaimed (reprocessed to the same purity levels as new R-22), recycled (for reuse in the same system) or destroyed.

What else should I know?
By containing and using refrigerants responsibly — that is, recovering, recycling, reclaiming with the prevention of leaks — refrigerants have no ozone depletion consequences. The Clean Air Act outlined specific refrigerant containment and management practices for HVAC manufacturers, distributors, dealers and technicians. The single best thing a homeowner can do for the environment, regardless of the HVAC fluid used, is to select a reputable dealer who employs service technicians that have achieved Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification to handle refrigerants. It’s important to remember that properly installed home comfort systems rarely develop refrigerant leaks. So a system using either R-22 or R-410A will have negligible detrimental impact on the environment for the length of its lifespan.

For more information about refrigerants, visit the Carrier and Trane web sites.